Rejected and Misplaced
by Alpine992
Summary: In an unfortunate turn of events, Ichigo finds himself in the world of One Piece amidst some of the oddest pirates on the seas. With no way to return, the Fullbringer has to learn to adapt and survive in this world while dealing with the overbearing personalities of a crew while also dealing with events that led him to be here.
1. Chapter 1

"Think he's dead?" Ichigo's eyes twitched beneath his eyelids at the unknown voice as his consciousness came back to him. Why did someone think he was dead? What was going on, last thing he remembered was…

"Idiot, clearly he's not dead if he's breathing now give me some room." His train of thought was interrupted by the girl that had spoke, shuffling was heard as a soft touch was placed at his neck, obviously searching for his pulse, the female let out a soft sigh clearly relieved he was actually alive. "Get me a wet towel or something." The female voice spoke again.

"Huh, how come?"

"Just do it!" It would seem that the woman had a fiery temper, or just didn't have the patience to deal with idiots, he could understand the issue, he himself had a hard time dealing with idiots. There was movement beside him once more before a splash of water. Another sigh of annoyance from the female before a wet towel was placed on his forehead, it smelt like salt water.

"Think he's an alien?"

"Just be quiet."

"He has the same hair colour as you, must be your brother."

"I'ma smack you Luffy, now shut up." The obvious sound of this Luffy being hit sounded out with an echoing thud, it was clear the woman had hit Luffy before she had given him the warning, his whining of such was also evident to that fact. Quiet passed over them for some time, and Ichigo could have almost returned to unconsciousness with the feeling of the cool towel on his forehead, however something just wasn't right. He shouldn't be lying down, that last thing he remembered was…

Brown eyes snapped open his eyes frantic as he searched for a familiar face, his vision was filled with an orange haired teen girl in a white and blue shirt looking down at him with wide eyes before a dark haired teen with a straw hat appeared in his vision. Instantly he knew something was wrong, it was no longer night and these two were completely unknown to him. The last thing that he remembered was Riruka crying out his name and Orihime's tear stained face as Tsukishima...

"Easy there." The girl spoke to him as she saw the look in his eyes, the anger and remorse held deep in his brown eyes after everything that had happened in the past few hours. In return, he could see it in her eyes, she was nervous, was it because of him or something else? "You had a pretty big fall."

"Yeah, you hit the ocean like a rocket!" The one named Luffy laughed before his face became serious as he stared down at him. "Are you an alie-ow!" The girl had smacked him upside the head with enough force to send him a few feet back, only then did he feel the rocking sensation of the sea beneath him as Luffy collided with the side of the boat that they were now on.

"Oi, watch it." A third voice spoke causing Ichigo to turn to see a third among the unknown, his back was to them but his green hair was distinctive. From what he could see, the green haired man was cleaning his swords, a total of three in the man's possession. Raising a hand to his forehead he went to sit up only for a soft hand to land on his shoulder causing him to look at the orange haired girl who was halting his movement.

"You really shouldn't, you need to rest. We're not far from an island with some settlements on it, once we get there we'll see if they have a doctor so they can treat you properly." Ichigo was about to retort that he was fine, but there was no denying that his body was in pain, whether it was from the fall that they were talking about or if it was something else, he was unsure. Now that he was more aware of his surroundings it was clear that his clothing was completely drenched simply adorned in what he had been wearing earlier. A black t-shirt beneath a white open jacket, white pants and sneakers. If they were on the ocean and from what he was guessing they were, then he had somehow landed in the water.

"I'm fine." He stated as he continued to sit up protesting the pain that flooded his body, he had lived through worse after all, this time the girl didn't stop him simply scooting back a bit to give him some room. Luffy, the one in the straw hat was simply sitting with a grin on his face as he watched the new commodity to come aboard their boat, or from what he was now seeing, boats. While they were on one boat, there was another boat off to the side, the two tied together with a rope, probably to keep them drifting from one another.

The one that they were on had a plain white sail, while the other, somewhat larger than the one that they were on, had a large black sail with a comic-style skull-and-crossbones, with the unique feature of a large red clowns nose, and black crosses on the eye sockets. Everywhere else he could see was nothing but open ocean.

"Where..." He managed to get out before he was interrupted by the shouting of the straw hat wearing teen.

"What's your name!? Where are you from!?" He had to wince at the sudden barrage of sound, catching movement from the corner of his eye he could see the orange haired girl shaking her head as she sat back against the side of the boat.

"Yo, Navigator, there's an island ahead." The green haired swordsman spoke, Ichigo, along with the navigator looked up to see that there was indeed an island ahead in the direction that they were sailing in.

"I told you." The woman grinned as she got to her feet before leaping over the side of the boat they were on before landing on the other boat with the black sail on it.

"FRESH MEAT AT LAST!" Luffy shouted as he made his way to the front of the boat, taking his seat at the very front.

"And booze."

"Is that you all you two ever think about!?" The navigator shouted, it was clear to Ichigo that they had, had this argument several times already if he was going off by what he had heard. The three began to talk, mostly the Navigator trying to get the other two to understand what they needed, or what they didn't have to venture forth to something called the Grand-line.

In truth, Ichigo wasn't paying much attention to what was being said. Instead, he sat at the back of the small boat with Luffy and the swordsman, his head somewhat down as his orange locks covered his eyes as he gripped his substitute badge in his hand. If only he had been stronger, if only he had been able to break through to Orihime and Chad, this wouldn't have happened. Instead, Tsukishima had used his weakness for his friends against him. He had seen it in her face, the pain Orihime had felt as she defended Tsukishima, how reluctant Chad had been to attack him. But it wasn't enough, Tsukishima's power, they couldn't break through it on their own.

Ichigo's grip tightened on his badge as his thoughts turned to how it had all come to an end, but before he could mull over what had transpired, the boat he was in came to a sudden halt causing his head to shoot up in surprise, having completely forgone his surroundings delving deep into his thoughts to even notice that they had gotten closer to the island.

"Land! We made it!" Luffy shouted jumping off the boat as Ichigo saw the Navigator sigh with a comment on how it was stupid for a pirate to have no navigation skills. In truth, Ichigo would have never even expected that these three were any kind of pirates. Sure the strange mark on the black sail kind of looked pirate like, but these three? No way. Deciding it wasn't his place to judge what they believed themselves to be he rose to his feet, placing his badge in his pocket as the green haired swordsman gave him a glance.

"Should you be up?" He questioned.

"I'm fine." Ichigo replied simply getting a nod from the swordsman as they both stepped off the boat, stepping across the sand Ichigo glanced around, cliffs welcomed them from the beach with a large path leading up to what seemed to be a village, with a quick glance over his shoulder there was nothing but open ocean behind him.

"Now that I think about it, we never got your name." Ichigo turned back to the Navigator who had spoken to him, having walked over from the boat she had been on. Both the swordsman and Luffy were looking their way now, Luffy seemingly more interested than the swordsman.

"Kurosaki Ichigo." Ichigo replied, he had no reason to hide his name from them, plus they did pull him out of the ocean.

"Ichigo huh." She mulled over the name for a moment before shrugging. "I'm Nami, the idiot in the straw hat and vest is Luffy, the Captain." Ichigo glanced to Luffy who grinned at him, it was clear that the abundant amount of curiosity for both searching this island and meeting the unknown person they had pulled out of the sea was at its boiling point and was about to explode. "The idiot with the swords, is Zoro." It was clear the swordsman wasn't fond of him being called an idiot but didn't comment on it.

"It feels good to be on dry land again." Zoro groaned as he stretched his arms above his head.

"There's a village around here somewhere right?" Luffy questioned, looking from left to right with a wide grin on his face as if he was going to find a village just by looking up and down the coast line.

"Yeah, it looks like a small one though." Nami stated as she looked at a map she had with her.

"Oh, oh, then there's meat! There's meat, there has to be a place to eat meat in this village!" Luffy shouted as he dashed to Nami's side, intent on getting an answer from Nami that would lead him to a food source.

"Just forget about meat for a second would you." Nami snapped at him as she pushed him away by the face. Ichigo smiled softly, it was a nice atmosphere between them. Taking a glance over the cliff face, his eyes scanning the trees and bushes that lined the cliff only to raise an eyebrow as he felt the presence of four above, three seemed to be children while the fourth seemed to be a bit older. The soft click of Zoro flicking his sword up a few inches broke his concentration.

"Careful, we're being watched." Zoro commented as his eyes took in the cliff face, a serious expression on his face. It was clear to see he was ready to draw his sword at a moment's notice.

"Huh, by who? Where are they? They got meat?" Luffy shouted, grinning all the while.

"Watch out!" Zoro shouted. The projectiles themselves were easy to see for someone who had trained with the fastest woman in Soul Society's history, but Ichigo still found it impressive that Zoro was able to warn them that they were being fired upon. The small metal balls hit at Luffy's feet causing him to stumble off to the side as Nami quickly retreated behind a boat out of the line of fire. They hadn't been fired upon by a gun, there was no gunshot nor was there the scent of gunpowder in the air, it was a wonder how they had been shot at.

The moment that the onslaught of fire had stopped, flags were raised upon the cliff face by the dozen. There was no way there were more than four people up on the cliff face, so it must be a pulley system or something, Ichigo mused to himself.

"Whoa… that's so cool!" Even after being fired upon, Luffy seemed to not even care about that fact instead engrossed in the obvious trick to try and scare off anyone that might come to the island looking for a fight.

"Is this suppose to be when we're impressed?" Nami muttered to herself, still hiding behind the boat clearly not impressed by what was happening, nor of her fellow crew members attitude towards being attacked.

"Hahahaha!" Laughter erupted from the cliff face causing the four to look up to see a teen in brown overalls with a white sash wrapped around his waist with an abnormally large nose standing there with his arms crossed. "I am Usopp, leader of the invincible nation of pirates who reign over this island. You stand before a living legend, the most revered pirate who ever lived, I am the great Captain Usopp!"

"_He sure thinks highly of himself." _Ichigo thought with a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, the kid had the guts to stand up to what looked to be four pirates coming to raid the town, his heart was in the right place, his head? Probably a few screws loose if all he brought was three kids to help him warn off potentially deadly pirates.

"If you're thinking of attacking this village, then forget it! My army of eighty million mean pirate soldiers would squash you like bugs!" He roared down to them. Ichigo had to forcibly stop himself from face palming, seriously? If he was going to lie, at least make it somewhat believable. Eighty million people, this small island wouldn't have enough room for that many people and what he could sense, there was less than three hundred people on the island.

"So AWESOME!" Luffy shouted, clearly believing the flat out lie he had been told, seriously how did Zoro and Nami think he was good enough to be the captain of their crew, he was bound to get them into more trouble than not.

"You expect us to believe that?" Nami questioned, at least she had a decent head on her shoulders

"Ah, she knows!"

"You just admitted it." Nami smirked as she leaned up against the boat.

"What!? He was lying!?" Luffy questioned turning to face Nami who ignored his outburst.

"Curse you, you crafty tactician!" Usopp shouted down at Nami who shrugged the comment off. "Eighty million may have been an exaggeration, but I have a great many men under my control!" The flags that had been raised began to move, or more so only six of them began to move up and down while the rest were all held in place.

"My guess is three." Nami replied coolly as she spotted the small metal balls that had been shot down at Luffy. The three children hidden in the trees all jumped up shouting that Nami was some kind of witch for knowing everything she did before running off leaving Usopp flabbergasted that his 'crew' had abandoned him. "A pirate using a slingshot huh, now I've seen it all."

"Hahahaha, that's pretty cool!" Luffy laughed, truly enjoying the moment.

"Hey you, don't insult me!" Usopp shouted, becoming angry at being laughed at as Ichigo saw him reach for his sling shot. "I'm a proud man, and I won't stand for it. This is your last warning, or you'll get to see why they call me 'Proud Usopp' and not 'Pushover Usopp'." However as soon as Luffy saw the tension in the band of the sling shot pull back, the atmosphere changed dramatically. "You've already seen for yourself just how good I am with this thing, so, you know I can rival anyone with a pistol."

"_No matter how strong a human being is, there is no way a slingshot like that can match the power of a pistol." _Ichigo sighed to himself as he saw Luffy tilt his straw hat forward slightly, the rim covering his eyes.

"Now that you've drawn your pistol, are you prepared to use it. Guns aren't for threats there for actions, are you willing to risk your life?" Luffy stated in all seriousness, Zoro chuckled lightly to himself as he placed his hand back on his sword, flicking one of the blades up like he had done earlier as he turned up to Usopp.

"I can assure you, we're real pirates. Consider your next move very carefully." Zoro called up, Ichigo smirked to himself, while the two looked serious it was clear they were just messing with the kid, or at least Luffy was. Taking a seat up on the boat that Nami was leaning against, he decided to see how this would unfold. Nami, unlike Ichigo, was unsure of what was going on and simply had a quizzical look on her face, were they really going to kill this kid?

It was a while before Usopp let the metal ball fall to the ground as his slingshot went limp in his hand and he fell to his knees did Ichigo hear Nami let out a soft sigh of relief. Luffy and Zoro both laughed as the tense atmosphere simply faded away, no longer any concern for potential blood shed.

"Those idiots." Nami huffed causing Ichigo to glance down at her, Luffy and Zoro were now speaking with Usopp who had fallen down the cliff after hearing that Luffy knew Usopp's father or something.

"If they're such idiots, why be in their crew?" Ichigo asked honestly causing Nami to look up to him with slightly wide eyes, obviously not having been expecting the question from him.

"Who knows." Nami shrugged with a slight smirk. "So, how'd you end up falling from the sky like you did?" She questioned leaning over the edge of the boat, still staring up at him only getting a slight smirk from him in return.

"Who knows."

"Nami! Ichigo! Usopp's taking us to a restaurant to get some meat!" Luffy shouted causing Nami to hang her head slightly, not even five minutes of not keeping an eye on that idiot and they were already going for meat.

"You coming with us? It'd be nice not to have to put up with idiots being idiots, and you don't seem like that much of an idiot." Nami told him causing Ichigo to shake his head, a frown coming to Nami's face. "Do you even know where you are?" She asked as Ichigo landed on the sand, his feet firmly planted beneath him as he slipped off the side of the boat.

"I don't, but I know I'm along way from where I'm suppose to be and have no way to get back." Ichigo told her, his voice soft as he pulled forth his substitute badge from his pocket, Nami eyeing it slightly, he was looking at it the same way that Luffy looked at his hat. "So, I've got to make do with what's in front of me. Abandon my fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop." He told her looking at the sky. "I've wanted to live my life by those words since I heard them, unfortunately, I haven't been able too. But from now on, I'll keep going forward."

"Seems pretty deep." Nami told him getting a shrug from Ichigo.

"It is what it is, thanks for pulling me out of the water and dropping me off here. But I think it'd be best if I was to see where I'm suppose to go on my own." Ichigo told her with a small smile. "Maybe I'll see you around."

"Yeah, maybe." Nami grinned at him. "I'll send you the bill for saving your life." She laughed as she ran off to catch up with Luffy, Zoro and Usopp leaving Ichigo on the beach. Ichigo simply shook his head in amusement, they were certainly and interesting group of characters, that was for sure.

When the four had disappeared from sight, a frown came to Ichigo's face as he looked to the sky, unable to help the sorrow fill his eyes as tears formed in the corner of his eyes trickling down his cheeks as he stood there, he knew he wouldn't be able to return home, after all Orihime's power of rejection was absolute and other worldly even Kisuke was baffled by it.

He had completely been rejected from reality by Orihime, because Tsukishima had made her do it. There was no going back.


	2. Chapter 2

A single lap up the beach of the island had taken a while before he had come to a section where there were rocks that made the beach un-passable on foot and decided to turn around and head back the way he had came, that was all it took to dry his clothes. It had given him some time to think, to calm down. To try and figure out his situation, there was no way he was going to get over what had happened in an instant but he needed to figure out what his plan to do next was to keep his mind active, he couldn't fall into despair, he wouldn't.

Even if there was some way to return home, there was no way he knew it. He still held the concern for his friends and family, even after all that had happened, they were being tricked, controlled by Tsukishima. He just hoped that his Dad, Kisuke, hell even Soul Society would help them. Glancing up the shore line he saw the two boats that he had come to the island on, showing that he had come all the way back to where he had began.

"Shows that they're still here." He whispered to himself, unsure of how long the odd pirates that he had met would be staying on the island. On his walk, he had even considered asking to join their band of misfits, after all, what was he suppose to do? He had no idea what this world was like, how society here was. Luffy didn't seem bad, Zoro… Ichigo didn't have an opinion on just yet, Nami was at least a stable person from what he saw. Either way, it was a potential option, even if he got a lift with them to the next island. This island didn't look like it would give him a stable understanding of what this world was like, although it might offer a peaceful living area.

"_No."_ He had to shake his head at that last thought, he couldn't just go about living a normal life, he'd be caught up in his grief and pain in no time, seventeen months of nothing but a normal life had shown him this. Deciding to let the situation linger a little while he made his way to the hill that would lead up to the village.

Just as he had been expecting, there wasn't much to it, just small houses dotting the landscape filled with large green fields, a large mansion off in the distance much larger than anything else on the island, perhaps a rich family lived in the estate. Shrugging he placed his hand in his pockets, his right hand unconsciously circling the substitute badge as if on instinct. There was no need for his Fullbring to be active but he felt secure having it close, to have something of what he once had.

It was literally the only thing that had come with him apart from his clothes, his phone had been lost so had his wallet he had checked his pockets to see if he had anything with him when he began his walk up the beach. He had nothing but the clothes on his back and his substitute badge, the source of his new power. Raising the substitute badge he stopped mid stride in the centre of the road.

"_Just to make sure it works here."_ A few moments of concentration and the familiar black Reiatsu flickered across the wooden badge before a blade shot out one end of the badge while a handle shot out of the other, the badge itself began to spin before locking into place as the cross-guard. "_It works."_ He breathed out in relief, he had no idea what he would have done if he hadn't been able to access his powers here. "_I'd still prefer to have Zangetsu back with me, but for now this will have to do." _Willing the blade to retract into the badge he placed it back into his pocket, missing the small chain that he use to carry it around on.

"I'll have to get a new one when I can." He commented softly as he continued to walk through the village, there was the odd person doing chores that greeted him with a nervous nod, he was an unfamiliar face in a small community of course people would be wary of him. It would seem that, if by what he was going off since being here, they were concerned that he might be a pirate. A small chuckle erupted from his as he walked, what a thought that would be, him a pirate of all things.

Following a track that led him up beside a field that was filled with sheep grazing he smiled as he passed them by, some sheep just looking up at him with a lazy stare as they munched the grass in their mouths while others didn't even bother taking much notice of him. Enjoying the gentle breeze that tousled his hair slightly he looked up the road only to see Nami and Zoro, Nami sitting on the fence as Zoro leaned up against it while the three kids that had been with Usopp were with them, it was odd to not see Luffy with them but he figured that he must be with Usopp since the two were both absent.

Nami having spotted her fellow orange haired teen waved with a smile as he got closer.

"Where did you disappear too?" Zoro questioned as he continued to lean against the fence, the three children hiding behind Nami's legs unsure of Ichigo's seemingly unhappy scowl.

"Decided to take a walk." Ichigo shrugged getting a nod from Zoro in return, seemingly not really all that interested to the answer of the question he himself had asked. "Where did Luffy run off to?"

"I was wondering the same thing actually." Nami told him.

"Who knows, he probably ran after that other Captain." Zoro explained causing Ichigo to raise an eyebrow in question to Nami who grinned, there seemed to be a story there.

"You sure missed the show, Usopp totally went berserk on this butler guy." She continued to grin, that was odd, from what little Ichigo saw of Usopp he didn't seem to be the violent type.

"Klahadore!" The three children behind Nami shouted.

"Yeah, whatever." Nami waved the three's opinion off causing Ichigo to sweat drop slightly. "Anyway, Usopp ran off and Luffy must have followed him to where ever it was he headed off too."

"Whenever the Captain gets really upset like this, he goes down to the shore to watch the sea." One of the kids explained to the three. "It's a sure bet he's there."

"Luffy is probably with him." Zoro sighed, running a hand over his face in annoyance, they were suppose to be going to get a ship yet their captain was gallivanting about the countryside doing who knows what for whatever reason that went through his straw hat wearing head. Nami and Zoro began to figure out between themselves if they should go searching the shore for Luffy while something had gained the three children's attention. Turning to where the three were looking, Ichigo spotted someone sprinting down the track towards them.

It wasn't hard to distinguish from this distance of who was running towards him, or at least Ichigo could pick up the similar soul signature he felt when they were being watched on the beach, since the three children were the only others on the beach and they were there with him, it could only be one person.

"CAPTAIN!" The three shouts of the children echoed out gaining Nami and Zoro's attention, the two seeing Usopp charging towards them. It was only when he was closer did they spot the serious expression on his face, no longer was the expression the same as the distraught boy being bullied by a butler or the happy go lucky liar that they had met on the beach.

"Hold on, wasn't Luffy suppose to be with him?" Zoro questioned as Nami and Zoro joined beside Ichigo to see the sprinting Usopp.

"Captain!" The three shouted as Usopp got closer, only for the teen to completely ignore everyone's presence and sprint past them, the three kids having to jump out of the way in surprise unless they wanted to be trampled.

"Hey! Where's Luffy!?" Nami called out to him. "Is he still at the shore…?" She trailed off as Usopp didn't even acknowledge her question either as he continued to sprint past the gathered group. Ichigo frowned slightly as he glanced back at the way that Usopp had come from, he could definitely feel Luffy's soul in that direction now that he was focusing on it and it didn't seem stressed or in danger by any means. "Wow, he looked really upset." Nami continued. "Is he still mad about his Dad being insulted?"

"Who knows." Zoro shrugged as they watched Usopp disappear down the track.

"No! That look was different!" One of the children explained.

"Yeah, something must have happened!" Another of the three added.

"Why do you suppose he looked so desperate?" The third added only for Zoro to turn to face the three kids.

"Hey, why don't you three show us the way down to this shore of yours." Zoro told the three who were all crowded around one another, talking about how it all smelt like an adventure that Usopp was right in the middle of. Ichigo had to sigh, why were kids so high strung about doing such reckless things, by the look on Usopp's face this was serious business and it wasn't just because of that Butler, or maybe it was, Ichigo had no clue about what was going on in truth. While Zoro shouted at the three to get them to show them the way, Nami approached Ichigo.

"Find out which way you're headed yet?" Nami questioned referring to their earlier conversation down on the beach.

"Still working on that." Ichigo told her. "Mind if I tag along for a bit."

"I've not no problems with that, Zoro won't care much either." Ichigo nodded as the two began to follow after the three kids with Zoro walking on the other side of Nami none too happy about what was going on it would seem.

"How did you fall out of the sky anyway?" Zoro questioned turning his attention to Ichigo who sweat dropped slightly, it took him that long to ask?

After reaching the cliffs overlooking the shore and searching the area for a little bit, they caught sight of Luffy below the cliff in an awkward position, making their way down to him, it was clear to Ichigo that he was still alive sensing the presence of his Soul but Nami's and the children's first reactions were thinking that he had fallen off the cliff somehow and died. After the snores of the pirate captain were heard and the realisation hit, Zoro poked him a few times with the tip of his scabbard to wake Luffy up. With a loud yawn Luffy sat up with a grin on his face surprising Nami and the three kids.

"Good Morning." Luffy casually greeted with a grin as he looked up. "Oh hey Ichigo, where did you go before? You missed so much meat."

"You scared us half to death you moron!" Nami shouted grabbing Luffy by the vest and shaking him rapidly. "Now what the hell is going on!?"

It didn't take long for Luffy to spill everything, hell he didn't even hesitate explaining what he and Usopp had stumbled upon when they had been at the top of the cliff. The Butler Klahadore, was apparently this big name pirate in this East Blue that they were currently in, but had staged his own execution before becoming a butler for three years for the sole purpose of inheriting someone by the name of Kaya's family fortune.

But not only that, come morning the village was to be set upon by Klahadore's previous pirate crew to kill every last villager, seemingly leaving Klahadore the sole survivor of the incident. Ichigo had to scratch at the back of his neck awkwardly. In the few hours that they had been on the island they had stumbled upon some plot to completely massacre the town? There was no way in hell it was just timing, right? There had to be something in the air, right? Right?

"That must be why the Captain was so bent out of shape!" Onion shouted.

"He must have run to the village to warn everyone!" Carrot added.

"That's great then, no one will be here when the pirates arrive tomorrow." Nami smiled, truly happy that none of the villagers were going to be killed in the attack.

"Yeah that's right!" Carrot nodded. "We better run away too if we wanna live!"

"Yeah, let's pack our treasure and run like the wind!" Pepper shouted along with the other two before the three dashed off.

"Oh no!" Luffy exclaimed, suddenly coming to the realisation gaining everyone's attention. "We need to stock up on food before the Meat Shop Guy runs away!" He shouted before he was hit in the back of the head by one of Zoro's scabbards.

"Come on, that's not really the issue at hand here now is it!?" Zoro growled out.

"We should find out what Usopp plans to do." Ichigo stated gaining the three's attention only to see the orange haired teen with a hand to his chin as he stood in thought. "The look on his face wasn't that of someone who was going to run away, there's no way he'll let pirates invade, villagers present or not. This is his home, he looks like the type to defend what's precious to him."

"He's right." Zoro nodded, a smirk on his face. "He might be a liar, but he has honour."

"So, what are we planning to do about it then?" Nami questioned, fearing the answer somewhat.

"That's easy." Luffy grinned.

By the time the four, well three and a reluctant Nami had finished deciding on what to do, it was late afternoon almost coming on night when they found Usopp with Pepper, Onion and Carrot. At first Usopp seemed back to his usual self, at least until he saw that Luffy was alive. He had been so shocked to find out that Luffy had only been sleeping that he stopped favouring his left arm revealing his blood soaked wristband that was obviously covering an injury he had received. While the three kids didn't seem to take notice, Ichigo and Zoro sure picked up on it.

"We heard everything Captain!" Carrot exclaimed. "Luffy explained it all to us, how Klahadore is a pirate planning to kill miss Kaya!"

"Let's hurry and warn the people and tell them to run away!" Onion continued only for Usopp to look down, his eyes covered by shadow remembering everything he had been through since trying to warn the people that pirates were really coming this time, he had been chased, shot at and what hurt most of all, Kaya's reaction to everything he had said. That was before he burst out laughing surprising the three kids however the other four knew what he was doing.

"Obviously I'm lying like usual!" Usopp continued to laugh. "That damn butler pissed me off so much with what he said, I thought I'd get him back by saying he was a pirate!" He laughed.

"Oh I get it, you put the straw hat guy up to it too!" Pepper and the other two laughed with them, the three started walking past Usopp surprising the curly haired teen.

"Wait, where are you guys going?"

"Even if that butler guy is a jerk, I never thought you'd lie to hurt someone." Onion frowned as the other two nodded in agreement before they walked away leaving a stunned Usopp. A frown marred Ichigo's face, while he had done it to protect them from the truth it was clear that it didn't have the desired effect Usopp had been hoping for. It was clear that his lying had never brought about such trouble like this before.

"Come on, we should get that arm looked at." Ichigo stated snapping Usopp from his daze.

"I've got some supplies, let's go to the shore and I'll do what I can, I'm not doctor but it'll help at least." Nami explained getting a silent nod from Usopp as the small group of five headed back down to the shore in silence. When they arrived Nami sat Usopp down on some rocks and pulled out some basic medical supplies. Some bandages and sterile alcohol. Ichigo watched as Nami applied the treatment to Usopp's gunshot wound, at least it had only grazed his arm and there was nothing to pull out. Didn't stop Usopp from whining every step of the way though. Nami had to tell him to stop being a baby multiple times. Ichigo took a seat on a rock formation beside Zoro, while Luffy continued to watch Nami treat Usopp's scratch.

"There, all done." Nami stated as she finished bandaging it getting a sigh of relief from Usopp in return.

"So, how come you lied to them." Luffy questioned.

"Because all I do is lie. There is no way anyone was going to believe what I was going to say. Why should they?" Usopp told him.

"Because what you were telling them was the honest truth." Zoro huffed.

"Don't you think I know that!" Usopp shouted as he gripped his hair in one hand wishing none of this was happening, that today could have just been a peaceful day in the village like always!

"It's just like 'The Boy who cried Wolf'." Ichigo stated gaining everyone's attention.

"Huh, what boy? What wolf?" Luffy asked curiously.

"You tell the same lie, over and over again and people stop believing in what you're saying." Ichigo explained as Usopp lowered his head. "Nobody believes a liar...even when he is telling the truth."

"They are coming, and they'll level this whole entire town." Nami whispered softly.

"Yeah they're definitely going to show up." Usopp nodded. "But what am I supposed to do? They'll just think I'm lying again. They think tomorrow will just be a normal, peaceful day." Wiping back tears Usopp got to his feet. "That's why! Tomorrow I'm going to stop the pirates at the beach and make sure this stays a lie! That's the only logical thing a liar like me can do! Even if they drive me away, or shoot at me, this my village, my home and I love everyone in it! I have to protect them!" Usopp cried as tears ran down his face.

"You're hell of a good guy sending your cronies away and going into battle alone." Zoro grinned as he placed his hands on his swords.

"Just so you know, I have dibs on all the pirates treasure." Nami smirked, the one condition she had for helping out.

"So you want a little help, or what?" Luffy questioned as Ichigo got to his feet with a nod of agreement, he knew that look on Usopp's face, there was no way he was going to run away from this. Usopp sobbed loudly as he looked at the four who were all willing to stand beside him.

"You guys… are going to fight with me? Why?" He questioned.

"There's a whole bunch of bad guys, right?" Luffy questioned in return.

"I'm just in it for the treasure." Nami reassured with a nod of her head.

"Got nothing else to do." Ichigo shrugged.

"And you look scared out of your mind." Zoro added.

"M-Me, scared!? For your information, I have nerves of steel, I'm perfectly okay with tons of bad guys. After all you're looking at Captain Usopp brave warrior of the high seas!" He shouted as his knees continued to rapidly shake in fear. "Okay I'm scared! Why shouldn't I be, their Captain Kuro's men, these guys mean business! I don't need pity! If you guys are sticking around because you pity me then just leave, I don't need you laughing at me!" He shouted at them.

"We're not laughing at you." Zoro told him seriously. "We're helping because you are honorable."

"You really think we'd risk our lives out of pity?" Luffy questioned seriously.

"You guys." Usopp sobbed quietly as he fell to his knees wiping his face before he bowed his head. "THANK YOU!" Luffy and Zoro grinned at one another as Nami tugged on Ichigo's sleeve gaining his attention.

"I know Luffy and Zoro can fight, but can you?" Nami asked softly so Luffy and Zoro didn't hear getting a small smile from Ichigo.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve." Ichigo told her. "Don't worry about me."

"Trust me, I'm just making sure you can pay me back for the whole saving your life thing." Ichigo's sweat dropped slightly, was she really going to bill him for that because he didn't know if she was joking or not. "Looks like we'll be sticking together for a bit."

"Looks that way." Ichigo nodded before Luffy appeared over his shoulder.

"You should totally join my crew." Luffy grinned as Ichigo glanced at him.

"I'll think about it." Ichigo told him making Luffy's grin widen and he opened his mouth to obviously shout something before Ichigo's hand enveloped his face holding his mouth shut in the process. "I said I'll think about it, don't pester me." With that Ichigo pushed him away by the face as Luffy simply continued to grin and nod his head, his excitement of a potential new crew member was clear in his eyes. "Now, shall we form a strategy for tomorrow or what?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh my god." Nami beamed up at Ichigo. "Someone with an actual brain! Well maybe, since if you're thinking about joining this crew, you may already be insane." Ichigo cocked an amused eyebrow at her. "What?"

"What's that say about you then?" He questioned leaving Nami speechless as she glared at him.


	3. Chapter 3

Ichigo clicked his teeth in annoyance for the thousandth time that morning, he knew it was morning because the sun could be seen starting to show its rays over the horizon of the sea. The five had tried to come up with a strategy for fending off the incoming pirate crew that they would have to stand against over the course of the night. Ichigo had no knowledge on anyone else's skills but his own, Luffy's idea was to hit them, really, really hard… Zoro's was to just cut as many as he could while Nami offered to steal everything after the fighting was done and Usopp… Ichigo had to hang his head, Usopp was just getting back from the village with a cart carrying several barrels of oil. He was going to cover the slope that led down to the beach in oil in an attempt to stop the pirates advance. Ichigo had tried to voice his concerns on the matter however after Luffy saw how 'cool' it was, yeah there was no stopping that train wreck.

"Alright, Luffy give me a hand with these." Usopp ushered the pirate Captain over, getting the help of Zoro amidst it all, the three beginning to pour oil all over the slope from the barrels. Ichigo watched from where he was sitting, the oil covered area was a decent size, from cliff face to cliff face anyone would have a hard time getting up it but it was only a matter of time before they figured out a way.

It was only a temporary solution to the problem.

While Usopp may have had some kind of skill, he wasn't about to really injure people with that slingshot of his, or the pirates were just going to brush it off like it was nothing. If he had a pistol, at least he'd put some out of commission. Zoro and Luffy would either have to wait for the pirates to get past the oil or be on the other side of it, so there was that as well. Nami had a bo staff but he wasn't sure if she was ready to use it or not. By the way she was talking it was like she wasn't planning too.

Pulling his substitute badge from his pocket, he didn't think he'd have to use it the day after he got here but he was going to have to use his Fullbring in this fight, or at least some of it's power. They were just humans after all, if he could just use his newly regained powers to get the advantage over them he had the strength to do the rest on his own.

The only thing then was that he would have to try and explain his abilities to the four around him, something he didn't really feel like they honestly deserved to know. Sure they had saved him, pulled him from the water and brought him here but he honestly didn't know if he could trust them plus saving his life didn't entitle them to his life story. After all, he had trusted Xcution blindly and look how that turned out. Shaking his head from the thoughts of what was still fresh in his mind he focused on the badge in his hand.

"Have to focus on today." He reminded himself quietly.

"Yep, I'm a genius." Usopp congratulated himself with a grin. "There's no way they'll be able to make it up this slope now." He continued proudly. "They'll be too busy slipping and sliding like a bunch of idiots and we show up and beat the crap out of them!" He laughed.

"Let's just hope none of us slip down there." Nami added placing her hands on her hips taking a look at the oil now covering the slope. "It'll be like going through a meat grinder." Usopp paled at the thought.

"Usopp, I've got to hand it to you, you're pretty good at fighting dirty." Luffy stated looking up from where he was sitting on the ground tapping the oil with his sandal.

"Of course I am, there's no one who can best me with a slingshot or fighting dirty!" He announced placing his hands on his hips, Ichigo honestly didn't know if that was something to be proud of but Usopp seemed to think that it was.

"It's almost day break, they'll be coming." Zoro announced as a change in wind crossed over them rustling the trees overhead. Ichigo rose to his feet, substitute badge in hand causing Nami to tilt her head unsure of why he was holding the wooden object.

"A good luck charm?" Nami questioned.

"Something like that." Ichigo told her as they continued to wait for the incoming pirates… and wait… and wait… and wait. Ichigo's eyebrow twitched, there wasn't a single ship in sight upon the water's horizon and it was way past the time that the pirates were suppose to arrive from what he had been told about the meeting between Klahadore and the other pirate. If he stayed up all night trying to figure out a strategy with these idiots for no reason, let's just say he was kicking someone's ass today.

"Where are they!?" Luffy was the first to announce his displeasure. "The sun's totally up now, what's the deal?"

"Maybe they overslept or something." Zoro suggested, probably something that he would do, Ichigo mused to himself..

"No." Usopp began. "They'll definitely show up, and there will be a lot of them." He continued in a serious tone. Raising his hand to the bridge of his nose Ichigo let out a soft sigh, he didn't want to snap at them because he was tired but it was getting harder and harder not too. That's before he felt it, the sudden surge of killing intent from across the island a ways. His eyes widened as he realised their mistake, they had no idea what shore the pirates were landing on, Usopp had been so sure that this was the one because this was where the meeting between Klahadore and the other pirate took place! Sensing out he felt a large presences of souls up the Northern shore. The pirates. Ichigo wasn't the only one who noticed the new presence either, surprisingly Nami was capable of hearing the sudden onslaught of war cries from down the shore line.

"Yeah, I definitely hear them, it's coming from the North." Nami confirmed, turning to the others.

"No… no, it can't be." Usopp's face drained of all colour as realisation of his mistake hit the liar. "There's a shore just like this to the North, they went..."

"We're at the wrong shore!?" Luffy shouted in frustration as he gripped Usopp by the shoulders shaking him roughly. "That's not good!"

"Well this is where they had their secret meeting so I just assumed okay!" Usopp shouted in return.

"Calm down." Ichigo's voice broke through the growing chaos that was erupting from Nami spouting about how her treasure was going to get stolen, Luffy shouting that they needed to stop the pirates before they got to the village and Usopp crying about how he had been wrong. The three along with the quiet Zoro turned to Ichigo in surprise at his sudden change to a serious attitude. "Usopp, other than the North Shore are their other places that the pirates could land and attack from?" He had tried to get this information prior when they had been planning their move to defend the village during the night but Usopp had been so sure that this was the place that they would land that he had let the issue slide. "_I should have pushed for it."_

"O-Of course, there are plenty of shores but the North Shore is similar to this one in terrain, all we would need to do is stop them at the slope. We have to head directly North from here, you can make it there in three minutes at a full sprint." Ichigo nodded as he turned to the others. "You guys head to the North Shore."

"What are you going to do?" Nami questioned.

"To be safe, I'm going to check the other shores across the island. I'll meet you at the North Shore after I've looked, if we're not sure that the pirates haven't split up, we may be facing only one side of the crew while the others is already attacking the village while we're preoccupied."

"Ichigo's right." Nami explained. "Just, how are you going to check the island in time?" She questioned only getting a smirk from Ichigo in return before he disappeared surprising the four as he only left a flicker of green light where his feet had been on the sand before he had disappeared.

"SO COOL!" Luffy shouted with stars in his eyes before Zoro hit him across the head.

"Let's go." Zoro told his Captain getting a nod from Luffy who sprinted away.

"Right! I'll be there in twenty seconds! Head straight North, head straight North!" They could hear him chanting as he ran, disappearing into the distance.

"Dammit! My brilliant oil strategy was all for nothing!" Usopp groaned gripping his head. "All that wasted effort!" He continued to shout as he turned and ran up the slope after Luffy.

"My Precious treasure." Nami groaned. "I won't let them have it!" She yelled.

"Hey." Zoro began. "What're you doing, let's get going." He added getting a nod from Nami as Zoro turned only for the navigators face to pale as she felt her feet slip in the oil, having subconsciously taking a step back into the oil when she had witnessed Ichigo completely vanish in front of her eyes, something she couldn't explain. Now, instinct kicked in and Nami reached out for anything to grab a hold of to keep herself from falling, which unfortunately for Zoro was the scabbard of one of his three swords. "Gah! Let go! What are you doing!" Zoro roared as he was pulled down into the Oil with her.

"I'm falling!"

"Just let go you moron!" Zoro shouted as he slipped further into the oil, Nami's grip on his sword not lessening in the slightest as they both slipped further down the slope. Seeing an opportunity Nami grinned to herself.

"Perfect!" She shouted, using her agile frame for her benefit she quickly pulled herself up Zoro's frame before using him as a springboard to launch herself out of the oil, only pushing Zoro further down the oil in response. "Thanks Zoro, see you there!" Nami shouted with a slight bit of humour to her voice as she ran up the slope. "That oil won't be a problem for you right!?" She called over her shoulder as Zoro ended up on the other side of the oil trap.

"That girls going to pay!" Zoro shouted in anger as he tried to run up the oil spill only for it to end in failure.

* * *

The trees flashed by in a flurry of green as he sped across the island with the use of bringer light, childish as it may have been he had enjoyed the reactions of Luffy and the others when he had disappeared right before their eyes in a burst of speed. If he had gathered anything from Luffy's personality so far, then there was no way that the straw hat Captain was going to take no for an answer, meaning, Ichigo was bound to join his crew.

Honestly, Ichigo didn't see anything wrong with joining them, they seemed odd sure, but it was a point of focus for him something he desperately needed right now after all that had happened. He'd have to let Luffy know when the fight with the pirates was over. Coming to a stop at another empty shore, a cliff overlooking the ocean, a quick survey of the shoreline and the water with nothing in sight he disappeared once more completely astonishing an early morning fisherman who dropped his rod in surprise.

"_It's looking to be like they're only at the North shore that Usopp spoke of." _Ichigo mused to himself as he continued to speed across the island with bringer light, he just hoped that the four would be able to hold out until he got there, they after all were facing a possibly large force of pirates. They wouldn't be going up against them if they couldn't fight, but Ichigo still had no idea of what they were capable of. Quickly searching for any large life signatures, he found none, the largest being in the direction of the North shore meaning that the pirates hadn't split up.

Quickly pivoting on the spot he shot off towards the North shore, there was no point wasting time searching the other shores now. Increasing his speed, his grip on his substitute badge causing his knuckles to turn white, he knew he'd be entering a battlefield when he got there, as he got closer he could hear the familiar sounds of battle.

Appearing at the top of the slop he had to stop to asses just what he was seeing before him. All of the pirates were scattered at the bottom of the slope most seemingly defeated, the large cat like figurehead of the massive ship now docked in the bay was completely removed from the ship itself and lay before the ship. The scattered pirates clearly bewildered at what had caused it to become unlatched from the ship.

From where he was standing he could make out Luffy beneath the figurehead… sleeping, of all damn things. Ichigo could see Nami and an injured Usopp off to the side, on the cliff overlooking the slope. Zoro was currently the only one amidst a fight, two of his swords looked to have been stolen from him while he was fighting two pirates dressed like cats that were using their claws as weapons, the swordsman seemed to be struggling slightly with just a single weapon unable to go on the offensive while the two pirates attacked him without pause.

"This isn't good, they've got him on the defensive!" Nami announced as Usopp lined up his slingshot to take a shot, in the hopes to aide Zoro in his fight. Ichigo spotting Zoro looking over his shoulder every now and again to observe the two Ichigo realised what Zoro was thinking having been in the same position when fighting Grimmjow in Las Noches, he was protecting the two. Using his Fullbring once more he appeared beside Usopp clutching the bands of his slingshot in his hand making it impossible to fire off a shot, shocking both Nami and Usopp at his sudden appearance.

"What are you doing!" Usopp shouted up at Ichigo. "There is no way Zoro can gain any ground if he's too busy blocking their attacks!"

"Idiot, Zoro's holding off those two so that they don't come after you, what do you think firing on them is going to do? In your state do you really think you can deal with either of them?" He questioned not having taken his eyes off of Zoro or the other two pirates.

"Ichigo, got a weapon on you!?" Zoro shouted up from where he was still defending off the two cat like pirates having seen his arrival when he appeared beside Nami and Usopp. "Because I could use a hand!" Ichigo smirked as he grabbed his badge gaining Nami's attention before both Nami and Usopp recoiled as a medium-sized, black, machete-like blade, with a silver edge shot out one end as a round hilt with a simple white cloth-wrapping, and flat base shot out the other. The badge itself had become the guard, with a new black cross marking on it.

"Take the fat one! The skinny one's mine!" He shouted as Ichigo used his Fullbring to appear beside Zoro taking the fat cat like one's attacks with the edge of his blade before kicking out, slamming his leg into the fat one's gut sending him skidding back across the slope to the cliff face.

"Buchi!" Sham shouted out before Zoro blocked his path between Ichigo and Buchi.

"You're going to regret taking those swords from me." Zoro growled as he went on the offensive, slashing left and right as Sham dodged nimbly out of every slash of Zoro's sword. Buchi on the other hand stumbled slightly holding his gut where Ichigo's foot connected as he glared at the sword wielding teen unaware he was completely out matched in this fight.

"That kick..." Buchi started. "Really hurt!" He roared dashing towards Ichigo with his claws beginning swiping in all directions, Ichigo having witnessed much faster displays of speed in his previous experience had no trouble in following their movements, easily ducking and swerving out of the way of each clawed hand. There wasn't an instance where the claws even came close to cutting him, spotting an opening he rose his blade up stopping the left clawed hand as he used his left hand to stop Buchi's right claw delivering a boot to Buchi's gut, exactly where Ichigo's kick had connected prior. Buchi skidded back once more coughing up a small mouthful of blood as he fell to one knee.

"Nice one." Nami's voice reached Ichigo surprising him as she dashed right behind him, seeing her heading straight for Zoro's swords.

"_**Cat-astrophe**_**!"** Buchi called out forcing Ichigo to turn back to Buchi only to see the spot where he had been prior empty, hearing him from above Ichigo stepped back out of the way instinctively as Buchi hit the ground with tremendous force, his foot cracking the stone below him. However now Ichigo had the perfect opening. Buchi caught sight of the glimmer of steel as his eyes widened only for Ichigo's blade to slice down from shoulder to hip, a spray of blood erupting from the wound as Buchi fell to his knees.

"Gah!" Ichigo's eyes turned to where the cry had come from as it didn't come from Buchi, he turned only to catch site of Nami falling to the ground as Jango sliced her shoulder.

"What would you need swords for?" Jango commented only to look up, catching sight of someone at the top of the slope, dressed in black before Ichigo appeared before him in an instant a deep scowl on his face before Ichigo spun, his foot connected with the side of Jango's face, with a burst of bringer light behind his leg enforcing the kick with more power. Jango was sent crashing into the cliff face with a small eruption of dust and rock as he made impact. Ichigo crouched down beside Nami who was clutching her shoulder, trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall.

"Nami, are you okay?" Ichigo questioned softly, getting a nod from the orange haired girl as she bit her lip enough to make it bleed.

"The night has long since passed." A voice called over the slope causing Ichigo to glance over his shoulder to see a man in black standing at the top of the slope. "So, why does it seem like you've made no progress?" He continued as the pirates were paralyzed in fear at the mere presence of this man.

"C-Captain Kuro." One of the pirates managed to get out.

"He'll kill us all! We're all dead!" Another shouted in fear.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" Kuro roared from where he was standing, aggravation clearly taking over at his plan being screwed over. Ichigo glanced over to where Jango was currently pulling himself out of cliff face where Ichigo had kicked him blood running down his chin from his mouth, bruising already starting to cover his face his pink hearted glasses cracked and broken but still on his face.

"Uhh… I-I can… I can explain... all of this." Jango muttered as he stumbled slightly, his balance thrown off from the kick he had received. Ichigo frowned slightly, the fear he felt from Kuro was overwhelming everyone to the point that nothing else mattered, even Buchi and Sham were trembling in fear because of his presence. Deciding that this was a good a time as any Ichigo turned back to Nami.

"Can you stand?" He questioned softly gaining Nami's attention as she turned to face him before giving him a gentle nod in response to his question. "Go wake Luffy up." Her eyes widened before she gave him a smile and she nodded, pushing herself up to her feet she quickly dashed off down the slope. "Zoro! Head's up!" Grabbing the two sword scabbards Ichigo spun on his heels throwing them surprising the green haired swordsman.

"Don't throw someone's swords!" Zoro shouted before a grin came to his face as the swords came down, in an instant he snatched one with his left hand the other with his teeth. Ichigo had to smirk, he had wondered how Zoro would fight with three swords, who would have thought he'd use his teeth to do so. It was certainly something new for him, that was for sure.

"Damn Brats!" Jango roared spinning on the spot using the chakram on his string to sling it towards Nami at great speed only for it to be stopped as Ichigo reached out with his blade, sliding it through the centre of the ring without effort stopping it in the air as it went to pass him. Jango's jaw dropped as he saw his chakram spinning on the blade of Ichigo's before Ichigo swung his sword sending the chakram flying back at Jango hitting him square in the shoulder cutting deep as the hypnotist was sent off his feet crying out in pain as blood gushed from the freshly made wound.

"CAPTAIN!" The cries of the pirates could be heard before Ichigo cast a glare over them, shutting them up.

"Nice one." Zoro smirked as he held his swords up. "I'm getting tired of all these pointless dramatics, we're in the middle of a fight." He stated as he turned to face Buchi and Sham who were standing behind him still petrified at Kuro's presence who was growing more and more agitated at what was happening around him. Buchi and Sham now releasing that they were about to be attacked readied themselves and charged towards Zoro. "_**Tiger!"**_ Zoro placed the swords in his hands over the blade in his mouth mouth and swung forth with a forward descending slash at great speed. To everyone but Ichigo present it was too fast to see but Ichigo was able to witness the slashes that completely incapacitated Buchi and Sham. "_**Hunt!"**_

"It would seem that you've saved me some time, just less trash to clean up after I've dealt with all of you." Kuro stated pushing his glasses up with the palm of his hand. "While I offer my thanks, it changes nothing." He continued as he reached into his bag producing a set of gloves with five blades on each which he pulled over his hands. "You'll all still di-!"

"GOOD MORNING!" Luffy's shout erupted causing Kuro to falter at the large yell from the base of the slope. "Huh? Why's that bad butler guy there?" He questioned seeing Kuro atop the slope before Nami grit her teeth falling to her knees as she clutched her shoulder. "Nami!? Gah you're hurt! What's going on!? Why was I asleep!?" He shouted frantically.

"About time you moron." Nami breathed out as she fell to the ground still clutching her shoulder. "I'll leave the rest... to you." She breathed out.

"Right." Luffy nodded taking on a serious attitude as he started walking up the slope.

"For the treasure." Nami muttered causing Ichigo, Luffy and Zoro to sweat drop.


	4. Chapter 4

It seemed to Ichigo that Klahadore, or more so Kuro was surprised to see Luffy, alive at least. From what the orange haired teen could figure out from what he had learned, Luffy had somehow been hypnotised by Jango to fall asleep which resulted in him falling off the cliff yesterday. Would explain why Luffy was just sleeping there when everything else was going on, wouldn't explain how the straw hat wearing teen was alive though. Sure he looked resilient enough but that drop would kill a normal person or at the very least severely injure them, yet Luffy didn't seem bothered by it at all when they had found him yesterday. Luffy was tougher then he looked, it would seem.

Then… there was everything he had stumbled upon just now, Luffy seemingly being crushed beneath the mast of the pirate ship, just how was this kid still up and moving about, there was no way he was infusing Reiatsu into his body to make himself more resilient, there was no such presence around him to show that he could do such a feat. Luffy just was either really lucky or wasn't normal.

Shaking his head from the thought Ichigo turned back up the slope to look at Kuro standing there, what would look like an intimidating sight to anyone else, Ichigo had faced far worse in his past. Zoro was looking up at Kuro as well, Ichigo walking up to stand beside the swordsman. The two were ready to go on the offence when Luffy called up to them both.

"Hey! Leave that Butler guy to me!" Luffy shouted causing the two to look back down at him. "He's mine." Zoro and Ichigo glanced at one another, Zoro simply cocked a slight smirk as Ichigo sighed, if Luffy wanted to fight this guy Ichigo saw no reason for him not to, plus it'll give him a little bit of insight of what his future Captain was really made of. Then, if Luffy couldn't do it, Ichigo had no qualms about dealing with Kuro himself in the end. He wouldn't let this pirate off.

"I was getting rather impatient." Kuro began, his fingers flexing causing the blades connected to the gloves to shimmer slightly in the morning light as he rose his arms up in a cross pattered across his chest. "Jango, you're pathetic." He sighed seeing the downed Hypnotist with his own chakram embedded in his shoulder. "You had one job, and you couldn't even manage that. Really, nothing more that a pathetic waste of space." Ichigo glanced at Jango where he lay on the ground, he was conscious as he pulled the chakram from his shoulder and pushed himself to his feet, blood staining his clothes from where the chakram had been embedded.

"Please Captain, I can make amends, allow us to fulfil our duty!" Jango cried as he stumbled forward, begging and pleading with the ruthless pirate above.

"_He's moving off the adrenaline of fear alone, I'm surprised he has the strength left to stand."_ Ichigo frowned slightly as he glanced back at Kuro only to see that something had gained the pirates attention behind him. Narrowing his eyes, Ichigo readied himself feeling a person approaching at a slow run. The same person had caught Usopp's eye fear and dread completely overwhelming the young liar as he saw who it was. Ichigo moved as soon as Kuro rose up his weapons surprising Zoro who was stunned at the speed displayed right beside him as he witnessed Ichigo vanish before his eyes once more. That same green luminescent light at where his feet had been, he was going to have to ask Ichigo how he could do that, if he remembered after all of this. Seriously, first he fell from the sky and now he could do all this? He wasn't some random guy.

"Don't ever sneak up on me! Unless you want to die!" Kuro roared as he spun, intent on completely destroying the one approaching from behind.

"KAYA!" Usopp roared as he dashed to tackle Kaya out of the way with all the strength that he could muster within himself. Her small fragile frame was forced out of the way as the clang of steel echoed out across the clearing as Ichigo appeared before Usopp and Kaya, blade locked with all ten of Kuro's blades completely stunning the former pirate captain at the cold glare he was receiving from the orange haired teen holding off his blades.

"Just who are you?" Kuro questioned pressing his blades against the single blade in Ichigo's grip. "_I didn't even recognise his movements, it's impossible that he could move faster than the __**Sidestep Maneuver**__, but just how did he clear the distance up the slope in an instant like that!?" _With a flick of his wrist Ichigo sent all ten blades straight up into the air causing Kuro to jump back lest he be open to an attack. "_He's skilled, he's capable of holding off my attack with a simple blade one handed. Just who is he?"_

"Usopp, you okay?" Ichigo questioned without looking back at the downed teen.

"Y-Yeah, thank you, Ichigo." Usopp lowered his head as he looked to Kaya who was just as stunned as Usopp was at what had happened.

"Good." Ichigo started once more. "Get out of here, take her and run. She's the one that they're after right?" He asked, recalling what Usopp and Luffy had told them about the plan to kill some lady named Kaya after Jango had hypnotised her into handing over her fortune by making her write it in her will.

"I won't run!" Usopp shouted up at him. "I'll protect what's precious to me!" Ichigo glared over his shoulder at the downed teen making both Kaya and Usopp recoil at the anger etched onto his face.

"Then protect her!" Ichigo roared at him anger flashing through his eyes before they softened slightly and he turned back to Kuro, he hadn't deserved that. "There are times when you need to stand and fight, then there are times when you need to run." He spoke softly, he could respect what Usopp wanted to do. But Kaya was the pirates objective, meaning she was in the most danger just by being here. He didn't know if Usopp was blinded for his want to be the hero in this situation or he simply misjudged just how dangerous it was for Kaya to be here.

"Her being here is putting her life in danger, protect her. Don't think of it as running away, not when you're saving a life." He told him. "We said we'd help you out, you focus on the girl let us deal with the pirates."

"Ichigo..." Usopp whispered softly before nodding as Ichigo's words reached him, grabbing Kaya's hand. "Come on Kaya, let these guys deal with Kuro." Kaya didn't say anything, instead letting Usopp lead her away from the pirate who had posed as her butler for so long. The two met up with the three children of the Usopp pirates before disappearing over the hill.

"Hey Butler guy!" Luffy's shout grabbed both Kuro and Ichigo's attention and what happened next literally made Ichigo's jaw drop, sure over his course as a Shinigami he had seen an immeasurable amount of things that defied the laws of nature. But this… this was simply straight out of a manga or something. Luffy's arm had literally stretched out from his body defying the natural limitations of human physiology, throwing a punch from all the way down the slope which connected with Kuro's face sending the pirate to the ground. A punch thrown clearly over eighty meters. It was clear that this unnatural ability of Luffy's had certainly increased the effectiveness of his punch.

"Yo, Ichigo." Zoro called up to the stunned teen who turned down to the swordsman who had obviously seen Ichigo's reaction to the feat as he gave a smirk. "The Captain's a rubber man, his entire body is made out of Rubber." Ichigo turned to Luffy who grinned up at him as his arm whipped back seemingly retreating to how it once had been.

"Right..." Ichigo muttered running a hand down his face. "_A pirate made out of rubber… what's next? I start dating a princess? Pcht, like that'd happen."_

"Ichigo! Zoro!" Luffy called out to both sword wielders. "The butler's mine."

"You already said that." Zoro muttered. "What are we supposed to do, sit around and wait until you finish him off?"

"Deal with all these guys maybe?" Luffy questioned thrusting a thumb back at the other pirates that were still shocked that Luffy had actually hit their captain. Ichigo tilted his head, while it'd be easy for Ichigo just to deal with Kuro right now, it seemed Luffy wanted the glory of this fight. If he was being honest, the only reason Ichigo was giving Luffy the chance was to see this strange rubber technique of his.

"That hurt." Kuro muttered as he wiped blood from his lip as he sat up, glaring past Ichigo down to Luffy. "My my, that's quite a strange technique you've developed there. Do you have powers from eating the Devil Fruit?"

"Yep, I'm a Rubber Man." Luffy confirmed causing murmurs to raise up through the other pirates, mostly that of fear while Zoro heard Jango muse to himself about the feats that he had seen Luffy perform.

"Jango!" Kuro called out.

"Sir!" The hypnotist replied instantly.

"I can handle the boy!" Kuro continued, flexing his fingers causing the blades to glimmer in the light. "You handle Miss Kaya like we planned, have her write her butler into her will, then kill her. As for Usopp and the children, dispose of them."

"On it!" Jango muttered, using the last of his strength just to try and make it up the hill. Zoro watched him go, from the looks of the damage that he had taken from Ichigo it didn't look like he'd get far. Zoro's eyes widened beneath his black bandana as Ichigo appeared right before Jango, fist already cocked back. Zoro seriously had to know just how he could move that fast. Before Jango knew it, all the air had left him as Ichigo's gut planted itself in his stomach. "Damn it!" Jango gasped out as he slumped over on Ichigo.

"Yo, Luffy." Ichigo began gaining the straw hat wearing teens attention as Ichigo laid Jango down onto the slope, turning his attention down to the rubber teen. "This guy ruled his crew by fear, you that kind of Captain?" Ichigo questioned, eyes slightly narrowed.

"Not a chance." Luffy replied, a small grin coming to his face as he placed a hand on top of his hat. "We just have fun." Ichigo saw Zoro cock a smirk at that.

"Then hurry and kick this guy's ass." Ichigo smirked in return as he thrust a thumb up at Kuro. "You beat him, I'll join your crew."

"Gah! Really!?" Luffy shouted as he raced up the slope with a grin getting a nod from Ichigo as Luffy came to a stop before him. "Awesome! Zoro! Look, we got a new crew member, how cool is that!" Luffy shouted turning back to Zoro waving his arms up and down. "Ah! We have to give him a position! Can you cook!? Can you sing!? Are you a doctor!? Do you poo-!" Ichigo was suddenly barraged by a dozen more questions causing him to groan before he gripped Luffy by the face, did this kid seriously just ask him if he pooped?

"Defeat this guy, then we can work out the details." Ichigo told him.

"Crew!" Kuro shouted. "Do your job and get rid of the bastards in my way and destroy this village, the one that kills Miss Kaya is the one that'll become the next Captain of the Black Cat Pirates!" There was a burst of courage from the pirates, either by fear towards their Captain or perhaps the vigor of a prize such as becoming the new Captain. But either way, they were ready to fight once more. Luffy seeing this turned on the pirates now heading up the slope, he was about to join Zoro in readying for the attack before Ichigo placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You've got the butler guy, let Zoro and I take care of these guys."

"Right, then you join the crew!" Luffy grinned.

"Then I join your crew." Ichigo agreed as Luffy sprinted up the hill towards Kuro while Ichigo headed down the hill brandishing his machete like blade as Zoro readied his three swords.

"Welcome to the crew." Zoro smirked before both dashed down the slope, blades in a flurry of movement as the pirates encountered the sheer skill and power of the sword wielding duo.

* * *

"Ugh! We ran all the way…. to the Estate!" Usopp groaned, hands on his knees huffing heavily as Kaya panted beside him, Carrot, Spud and Onion all collapsed on the ground, their chests heaving as they tried to take as much air into their lungs as possible. "D-Don't worry Kaya, we'll protect you." Usopp told her. "We're the Usopp pirates after all." He grinned at her, getting a small smile in return before she was consumed by a coughing fit, Usopp getting the help of the three children to help her sit down. When she was able to calm the fit down she looked to Usopp with a small frown.

"Will your friends be alright, Usopp?" Kaya questioned softly, her worries back on the shore where Klahadore, no Captain Kuro had been about to strike her down before the orange haired teen had appeared before her, saving both her and Usopp from grievous harm.

"_I hope so." _Usopp thought to himself before grinning at Kaya to hide his own worry. "Of course they will be! They're members of the Great Usopp Pirates, not a force on the seas can stand against them! Hahaha!" Kaya had no idea who the pirates that were with Usopp were, even more so to the one who had saved her life. He hadn't been with the others when they had come to the estate before. But, they all deserved her thanks. "Now that I've seen you to safety Kaya, I must be off! The members of the Usopp pirates are in danger! You three, guard her with your life. That' an order as your Captain."

"Of course sir!" Onion, Spud and Carrot chanted all saluting at once. Usopp was about to turn to leave, even though he was incredible scared he wasn't going to let them die for him if he wasn't standing there alongside them. But before he could even take a step, his hand was gripped in Kaya's. Turning back to the blonde girl with wide eyes.

"I know you want to return Usopp." Kaya spoke to him. "I know what you're trying to prove. But..." Her body was trembling as Usopp looked down at her. "I'm scared of losing you like this."

"Kaya..." Usopp whispered softly as he remembered Ichigo's words, to protect Kaya, that they would handle the rest. "It's okay." Usopp smiled at her. "I can leave Kuro in their capable hands, I'll need to make it up to them somehow." He grinned, wiping his cheek.

"They said they needed a ship, right?" Kaya asked with a smile as Usopp grinned with a nod.

* * *

Nami couldn't believe it as she stood atop the deck of the Black Cat Pirates ship, looking down at the battlefield below. The entire crew of the Black Cat pirates was either unconscious, playing dead or gathered in a group that Zoro was currently running a rope around. Not to mention Luffy, she had seen him strike the final blow to Kuro with an incredible head butt that nobody but Luffy could have done, the butler barely stood a chance against the straw hat wearing Captain and Ichigo, she had caught sight of him watching every move of the fight in the last moments of the Captain duel that she had seen.

He was a complete anomaly to her, and the other members of her 'crew'. It almost made her want to pry and try to dig things up about his past, just to get all the juicy details. But, even just knowing him for a short while. She could see that he wasn't someone to push, to press boundaries nor was he one to give answers easily.

"_Tch, a Lucky charm, yeah right, when does a lucky charm turn into a frigging sword!?"_ She huffed as she recalled the strange wooden object before a glint came to her eye. "_Might fetch a pretty good price though. If I can convince him to join up with these morons, I can nick it before I jump ship."_

"Ichigo!" Luffy shouted with a grin turning to the orange haired teen causing Nami to raise an eyebrow. "You'll join my crew now, right!? No take backs! You promised!" Nami had to blink, had she missed something?

"Sure thing, Captain." Ichigo replied with a half smile causing Luffy to cheer in his position on the slope.

"_Guess I won't have to convince an idiot to join a bunch of idiots."_ She sighed digging a finger into her temple with an annoyed huff. "_And to think, I thought he had half a brain."_

* * *

**Several hours later.**

Ichigo was simply stunned as he stood beside an equally stunned Nami, Luffy's jaw had literally dropped several feet thanks to his crazy rubber ability that Ichigo was still getting use too, as Zoro stood with his arms crossed staring at what had been given to them. A ship. Kaya was giving them a damn ship for everything they had done. Sure fighting off pirates might seem like a big thing, but giving a ship as a reward? He seriously thought they were getting the better end of the stick at the point, he was no expert, but this seemed far out of the norm for a gift of gratitude. Sure he didn't know much about this world yet, but if he was guessing, a ship like this didn't come cheap. Just what kind of luck did Luffy have if he was getting things like this just for helping out?

"Are you actually giving this to us!" Luffy shouted directing his attention to Kaya who smiled with a nod.

"Yes, as a token of my appreciation." Kaya smiled. "Please use it." Then her attendant, Merry stepped forward.

"It's a slightly older model, but I personally designed it and she sails like a dream. She has a carvel-make caravel, with lateen sails and a central stern rudder. She's a fine ship and her name… the Going Merry!" While Ichigo was still stunned at the fact that they were being given a ship… there was also the elephant in the room that nobody else seemed to notice apart from himself… the man-sheep-guy currently addressing them. Glancing at Zoro, then to Nami and Luffy… yep, none were bothered by the sheep guy. Just him.

"_Shouldn't let it phase me too much…., this world has sheep people, rubber people and probably a whole lot of other weird crap I should just come to accept for now."_ He mentally told himself, knowing full well that he had no idea what to expect when it came to this place. He had already been stunned with Luffy's powers, he couldn't be stunned at every little surprise that decides to round the next corner.

"Let me explain the rigging." Merry began turning to Luffy who simply blinked at him. "First, about the Kruger net yard adjustment-" Nami already stepped in front of Luffy halting Merry's explanation.

"No, no! You can explain all the technical ship stuff to me!" She declared as Luffy pushed past them both as he stared up at the ship with an awe inspired grin. It was probably for the best, Ichigo didn't know much about his new crew yet, but Nami seemed to know what she was doing, Luffy on the other hand… yeah, Ichigo might come to regret joining this crew.

"What a cool ship, have you seen the front it's totally awesome!" Luffy grinned as he looked up at the figurehead that was shaped look a sheep's head. Ichigo took in the figurehead for himself before raising an eyebrow at the shape of it… glancing from the figurehead to Merry who simply smiled at him in response as Ichigo glanced back from the sheep person to the Figurehead… no, it was better to not comment on it.

"We've loaded it with everything you might need on your voyage." Kaya smiled happily, truly glad that they were happy with the gift.

"Thanks, it leaves nothing to be tired." Luffy stated with a bow causing Ichigo to hang his head, why was his new Captain such an idiot? Kaya, to her credit smiled through the obvious blunder but the quick dart of her eye to Merry was more than enough to show Ichigo that she was unsure of what to think of what he had just said.

"That's 'leaves nothing to be desired,' moron." Zoro huffed, well at least Zoro didn't seem to be an idiot and had the same thoughts about their Captain as Ichigo did. The orange haired teen looked up to the ship, a small smile coming to his face.

"_Looks like for now, this will be home."_ Walking along the side towards the front where Luffy was still looking up at the ship's figurehead. "_I'll make what I can off it." _Ichigo sighed gently to himself as the image of Yuzu and Karin along with his old man popped into his head, just the other day they had been eating happily together with no worries about anything. Last time he had seen them, they looked almost frightened, turned against him by the manipulation of memories. It hurt him to see his sisters like that. "_Look after them for me, Dad."_ Luffy grinned as he saw Ichigo approach before pointing to the top of the sheep figurehead.

"That's gonna be my seat!" Ichigo chuckled lightly.

"All yours, Captain." Some more time passed, with more gratitude from Kaya for all that they had done. Zoro suggested that they should probably get a move on, Ichigo had to say he had to agree. If they were truly going to get anywhere… wait, what was Luffy's goal exactly? Oh, that's right, to be the King of the Pirates he heard him tell the other pirates… he'd have to ask the straw hat wearing teen to explain that one to him, if he could. Just as they were about to board the Going Merry for the first time, they heard a shout of panic and all looked up to see Usopp rolling towards them with an impossible large backpack.

"No, Usopp!" Kaya cried, completely shocked at his current state as he hurtled towards them.

"Hey, what's he doing?" Luffy questioned curiously at the rolling teen. "Looks fun." He grinned.

"Well we better stop him, that weird-o is in a collision course with our ship." Luffy nodded in an agreement as the two stepped forward, both raising their feet and slamming them both into Usopp's face, effectively halting the rolling teen in his tracks.

"T-Thanks, guys." Usopp sobbed beneath their shoes.

"Any time." Luffy stated without a care as Ichigo glanced over to them, it would seem that Usopp was going somewhere with how much baggage he was currently carrying. Feeling a tug on his sleeve he glanced down to Nami who had manoeuvred herself to stand beside him.

"You're really joining the crew?" She questioned. "To become a pirate?" The way she said pirate, it just didn't seem right coming from her, like she held a grudge against the very fabric of the meaning. But Ichigo didn't pry into it, they knew little about him and he about them, they weren't on good enough terms, at least in his eyes, to suddenly be asking personal questions. He'd keep an eye on her, see how things turned out, maybe he'd get a proper answer out of her soon.

"Guess I am." Ichigo nodded. "Promised Luffy I would if he won his fight." He shrugged. "Either way, I'm apart of the crew." He told her.

"Well, we better get aboard before the idiot of a Captain sails off without us." Ichigo glanced to where Luffy was now stretching his arms up to the railing of the ship, before flinging himself up.

"I don't think I'll ever get use to that." He muttered to himself as he headed over with Nami to where Zoro was with a rope ladder that would allow everyone else to board. Ichigo turned to say a thank you to Kaya for the ship but she and Usopp seemed to be in a deep conversation with one another as they looked out over the water. Grabbing the rope ladder he was about to look up and start climbing, but the moment he did he got a foot to the face.

"Pervert! Wait until I'm up, I'm wearing a skirt!" Nami shrieked as Ichigo groaned, holding his nose. Calming himself down, he waited for Nami to be off the ladder, Ichigo started to climb up when he was on deck, he himself pulled the ladder up from the railing, looking at the ladder he smiled lightly before deciding to leave ti down the side of the ship, only to hear Usopp shout from the shore line.

"You guys take care!" His voice rang out over the ship as Ichigo headed towards where the others were standing at the stern of the ship looking to where Kaya, Usopp and Merry were all standing on the shore. "I hope we meet again some time!" He grinned up at them.

"Huh, how come?" Luffy questioned, if Ichigo hadn't been expecting it he would have stumbled.

"Wha? Are you antisocial or something? I'm going to be a pirate too, so we'll probably meet on the high seas eventually." He tried to explain, however everyone just stared down at him, confusing Usopp even more.

"What are you talking about?" Zoro questioned as he pointed down to the ship. "Hurry and get on already."

"Huh?"

"We're friends aren't we?" Luffy questioned looking down at him. "So get on." Usopp stared up at the smiling faces of those that had saved his island, all of them were offering him this chance he had always dreamed off.

"This is it! I'm a real pirate Captain now!" He shouted in joy.

"Don't be stupid Usopp! I'm the Captain!" Luffy shouted back down at him getting laughter from the others as Usopp wished Kaya farewell as he rushed to the side of the ship, even before he was on deck Nami was barking orders at everyone to be able to get the ship to set sail, even Ichigo was being bossed around by her, sure he had no idea what the heck he was doing, but he figured he might as well pull his weight and listen for instruction until he did know what he was doing. When the Going Merry was finally away and Usopp was at the stern of the ship waving back at the island Ichigo relaxed at the bow, Luffy already seated on the sheep's head. Ichigo gave a small smile as they sailed forward.

"_I guess this is the start of something new..."_


	5. Chapter 5

It took an entire two full days before Ichigo was bored out of his mind aboard the Going Merry. When he had thought that joining the crew would be a great idea, he hadn't taken into account the fact that he would be spending large quantities of time on the open ocean with nothing to do. Seemingly everyone else had something to do, Nami was always making sure that they were on course, checking maps and issuing orders to everyone else, the only time when Ichigo had something to do.

Usopp was always tinkering with something, in that massive bag that he had brought with him he seemed to have an endless supply if nick knacks to keep him occupied. Obviously the long nosed teen had come prepared for the so far boring journey, unlike himself.

Luffy was like himself, bored most of the time but always busy doing something or rather, be it eating sleeping or annoying anyone, sometimes everyone. Zoro either slept or trained, there was a little time for meals between the two and he helped out when Nami barked orders for everyone to get up and do something.

While Ichigo could see the dedication for training that Zoro had, Ichigo didn't see the point. So far, Kuro was it. If Kuro was the strongest adversary that they were going to come up against, Ichigo didn't see the need to become stronger. Even if there were stronger opponents out there, Ichigo hadn't used his full power against Kuro and he'd doubt he have to use the full power of his Fullbring in their next encounter either.

There had only ever been a handful of points in Ichigo's life when he had trained, and that was because he needed too. The first was when he was still a kid and practised karate, something that stopped long ago. Beating up thugs was meaningless brawls, barely any training what so ever, just keeping his skills sharp.

Then when he first got his power from Rukia, he didn't train until after Byakuya and Renji had taken Rukia back to Soul Society just fighting hollows by instruction of Rukia, his ten days of training with Kisuke had gotten him through many of his battles. Even now, his skills with a sword were because of those ten days with Kisuke.

His next step of training was to achieve his Bankai with Yoruichi. Following that, it was with the Vizards to master control over his Hollow mask. After his training with the Vizards, the next training was when he was fighting Zangetsu and his inner Hollow to learn the Final Getsuga Tenshō. His last bout of training was when he was trying to gain his Fullbring.

Now that he thought about it, the only time he ever trained was when he had something to overcome. He trained with Kisuke, to save Rukia. He trained with Yoruichi to gain Bankai. He trained with the Vizards to control his inner Hollow. He trained with his inner spirits to gain the Final Getsuga Tenshō to defeat Aizen. He trained with the Fullbringers to regain his power.

"_I never trained, to just perfect my abilities or to grow stronger for the next fight."_ The teen mused to himself as he looked up at the sky from where he was currently sitting in the crow's nest, several sea gulls circling the Going Merry overhead. "_Maybe if I had..."_ He trailed off in thought, there could have been so many differences if he had trained like so many others. They were all strong, but nothing stopped them from trying to grow stronger, so what was it that stopped him from doing so? "_The need for a normal life."_ He let out a soft sigh. "_I'd train when I'd need to defeat who or what I needed to, then go to school the next day and wait for the next thing to show up."_ Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his substitute badge, eyeing all the little nicks and marks that it had received over the time since he had been gifted it by Ukitake.

"Ginjo told Chad that once a Fullbring is complete, that's it, it cannot become stronger." Ichigo spoke aloud as his thoughts returned to the conversation, when Chad had brought up the fact that his powers had changed when he had gone to Hueco Mundo. Ginjo had said that it was Chad's Fullbring simply finishing it's evolution. There was no denying that Chad had become stronger after coming back from Hueco Mundo just being there had increased his strength. So, maybe it was possible that a Fullbring could still grow in power. Maybe it's form wouldn't change after completion but there was no reason the power of the user couldn't become stronger.

"Not to mention, the Fullbring is the manifestation of Hollow Reiryoku. So, if at all possible… Hollow techniques shouldn't be impossible." He finished as a frown came to his face. "_Would there even be a need for that kind of strength here?"_

Ichigo simply wasn't sure of the powers that they would face going forward. Luffy had told him that they were heading to a part of the world, known as the Grand Line to search for the One Piece, apparently a legendary treasure said to bestow the title of Pirate King should anyone find it. So, they had an end goal.

Nami, seeing Ichigo's lack of knowledge on the subject, which had in fact surprised the young Navigator, had decided to share some insight with her fellow orange haired teen. A famous pirate, Gold Roger had given the knowledge of his famed wealth and had issued the age of piracy in the very moments right before he had been executed. Their little band of pirates wouldn't be the only ones searching for the One Piece, not to mention some already had a massive head start on them.

So they would have encounters along the way with the other pirates and what he had seen with Kuro, there would definitely be trouble in their future, there was no doubting that. Not to mention the Marines that Nami had told him about. Of course there would be a force in place to put a halt to the pirates, you'd be stupid to think that there wouldn't be a military force in palce. Ichigo hadn't wanted to sound like a moron so hadn't asked too many obvious questions that the average person should have knowledge of, he'd figure it out as he went along. Plus, Nami was smart, she was already starting to question why he didn't have the basic know how.

"I'll keep training in mind, even if it's to kill time." Ichigo decided as he placed his substitute badge back in his pocket. "Even if I keep my skills sharp by sparing with Zoro every now and again." He nodded at his own decision, if he at least trained with Zoro from time to time he could keep his skills sharp, maybe even give Zoro a challenge for the future. Deciding to follow in Zoro's own way to pass the time, Ichigo folded his hands behind his head, kicked his feet up onto the side of the rail of the crows nest and closed his eyes.

It didn't even last five minutes.

**BOOM~!**

Ichigo was instantly on his feet, substitute badge in hand as he looked over the ocean for any threats, only seeing a large spire of water shooting up before crashing back down next to a small island structure jutting up from the water. Hearing talking down below on deck, Ichigo fixed his eyes into an annoyed glare, he looked over the side of the rail past the sail where Usopp had painted the mark of their crew, a skull with a straw hat on it. Down on deck were Luffy and Usopp both standing next to the source of the disruption. A canon which had just been fired with a box of cannonballs on deck beside it.

"What's with all the noise?" Zoro questioned from where he had been napping on top of the cabin.

"Canon fire practice." Luffy told him as he looked out at where his first cannon ball had landed, seeing that it hadn't hit the obvious target. "But it's not going very well." He added tilting his head, unsure what he had done wrong to make him miss his shot. Ichigo placed his elbow on the rail and cupped his chin in the upright hand as he looked down at them, an amused smile on his face. He had to give it to these guys, they were sure as hell easygoing. He hadn't felt intruding in the slightest since coming aboard, they were just that welcoming. Sure Nami was a bit high strung, but Ichigo summed it up to her being the only female aboard, although he could be wrong on that one.

"I'm telling you, let the expert handle it!" Usopp declared thrusting his thumb at himself, Luffy stepping out of the way as Usopp began to change the aim of the cannon. "Judging from the flying distance of the last one… this should do it!" He declared as he nodded. Luffy loaded another cannonball into the firing chamber as Usopp readied the gunpowder. Lighting the fuse Usopp grinned. "Fire!"

**BOOM~!**

Just like before the echoing sound of the cannon roared out over the ocean, this time Ichigo was able to watch the cannonball shoot from the barrely of the cannon and head straight for the island formation that was the intended target. He was surprised to find that the cannonball hit it's mark on the first try. He had to give it to Usopp, he had good aim. Maybe it had to do with his skills with a sling shot? It'd be interesting to see what he could do with others things, such as a gun or even a bow in the future.

"Awesome! You hit it on the first try!" Luffy shouted in excitement as he watched the rock crumble down into the ocean. Ichigo had to cock a smirk as he saw Usopp's stunned face that he had actually hit it as well.

"I really hit it..." Usopp mumbled.

"_The guy needs some more confidence."_ Ichigo thought to himself as he leapt over the side of the rail landing on the deck causing Nami to jump in fright as he landed right beside her. The Navigator not having expected him to leap from the crows nest.

"Gah! Some warning next time!" She huffed as she sent him a glare of annoyance, it was odd since he had officially joined the crew she seemed to be more angry at him, just like she had been with the others. When they had first met, she had a little bit of an attitude, but now it seemed like there was meaning behind it.

"Ichigo! Did you see that! How cool!" Luffy shouted seeing Ichigo now on deck before he turned to Usopp. "It's decided!" The Captain declared. "You'll be the crews sniper!" Luffy acknowledged as he headed for the cabin, Usopp following after him.

"What! I still don't get to be the Captain even after you've seen my superiority!?" Usopp shouted.

"No! I'm still the Captain!" Luffy declared as everyone made it inside, Luffy and Usopp taking a seat at the table talking about the Captain's position and how Usopp would take over if Luffy did anything cowardly. Zoro took a seat up against the fridge, seemingly falling asleep with ease while Nami took a seat opposite Luffy and Usopp going over another map. Ichigo entered after everyone else, it was one thing the crew was severely lacking. A cook. A conversation between them all started up obviously talking about a future crew member. While Ichigo could make the basics, he was no Yuzu that was for sure. Nami said she'd do it, if they paid her so there was no way that was going to happen. Luffy however, mistook what they were talking about.

"Every decent pirate ship can't be without one." Luffy grinned. "A musician." Both Nami and Zoro yelled idiot at him as they began to berate the happy go lucky pirate captain. Ichigo simply chuckled as he made himself a coffee. "But we're pirates, and pirates sing a lot, didn't you know?" He questioned with a pout. However their conversation was interrupted with the crashing of something outside on deck.

"Get out here you damn pirates!" A shout echoed after the crashes bringing everyone's attention to the door. Luffy rushed for the door from where he had been seated, crashing it open with a glare.

"Hey, what the hell!" He shouted seeing the destruction of the barrels. "Who are you!?" He shouted down to someone.

"Raising a pirate flag was bound to get us noticed sooner or later." Ichigo mumbled as he stirred his coffee. Usopp and Nami both had their faces at the door window looking out while Zoro kicked back against the fridge with a questioning look.

"Hey guys, how many are there?" The swordsman asked.

"Just one." Nami told him.

"Then let him handle it then." Zoro shrugged as Ichigo picked up his mug and headed for the door.

"S'cuse me." Ichigo stated as the two stepped back from the doro, allowing Ichigo to open the door and head outside Nami and Usopp slamming it shut after him. Ichigo rose an eyebrow at the destruction on the deck, seemingly caused by this one guy waving his sword all about. Luffy was ducking and dodging sword swings left and right but Ichigo saw no reason to interfere as he leaned up on the railing overlooking the deck, some of the railing had been broken off.

"I dunno what's going on, but stop breaking our ship!" Luffy shouted slinging both arms forward as he grabbed the intruders head and threw him back towards the cabin wall. Ichigo glanced down at him but shrugged as he sipped at his coffee.

"L-Lost by a hair." The intruder muttered.

"_Didn't stand a chance." _Ichigo shook his head as he glanced over to Luffy. "Did he say anything interesting? Like why he was here or something?"

"He just kept spouting nonsense about his partner." Luffy huffed. "Like I'd know who that is!"

"Johnny, tell me that isn't you down there?" Zoro questioned now standing on the balcony having come from inside after recognising the voice, he simply looked down at the intruder.

"Huh, who's calling my name like they think they know me or something!?" Johnny shouted looking up only to spot Zoro looking down at him. "B-Big Bro Zoro!" Johnny shouted in what seemed to be a panic.

"It is you, Johnny!" Zoro smiled.

"What are you doing here, Big Bro!?" Ichigo glanced between Zoro and Johnny, there was definitely no relation between the two. "Why are you on a pirate ship like this!?" Johnny questioned. "What's going on around here?"

"Where's Yosaku? Isn't he with you?" Zoro questioned ignoring Johnny's own question.

"Well..." Ichigo listened to Johnny's explanation and hung his head. Glancing at the door to see Usopp and Nami still watching from out the window he sighed. After the full explanation of what had happened from Luffy and Usopp almost blowing up Johnny's and Yosaku's small boat, to Yosaku having caught some kind illness over the past couple of days, it ended up with the unconscious Yosaku being on board their ship with Nami looking over him as Usopp and Luffy bowed repeatedly as they apologised.

"Big Bro, tell it to me straight, is he going to die?" Johnny questioned cupping Yosaku's hands.

"Idiots." Nami muttered as she looked Yosaku over only for Jonny to snap, grabbing her wrist as he shouted at her.

"Stop! What are you doing! You're mocking his death!" Nami reefed her hand back from Johnny's grasp with a growl as she pushed him away and turned to Usopp and Luffy.

"You two, remember we have limes in storage." She explained. "Hurry and go get them."

"Right!" Both shouted charging for the storage area of the ship. Ichigo glanced down, it was obviously treatable if Nami knew what she was doing, looked to be some kind of nutrient deficiency if his past times working in the Kurosaki family clinic was to go by.

"_Scurvy maybe? You'd think that they'd be smarter than this to let it get this bad, especially if they're on the open ocean for large amounts of time." _Ichigo pondered to himself as he watched Luffy and Usopp bring out an entire barrel of limes, Nami instructed them to pour the lime juice into Yosaku's open mouth which they both started to do.

"It's scurvy." Nami finally began confirming Ichigo's theory. "If we weren't too late, he'll be fine in just a few days."

"R-Really, Big sis!?" Johnny shouted. "Really!? You mean it! Thank you!" He shouted, unknowingly spraying Nami with spit which only irritated the navigator more as she pushed him away.

"Stop calling me that, it sounds so stupid." She growled as she wiped at her face. "Scurvy use to be a hopeless disease that was way more common, we just know how to deal with it better now so there are less cases. It's caused by a deficiency of plant-derived nutrients, like vitamin-C. Back in the old days, they couldn't store fresh fruits and vegetables. We just know better now." Nami shrugged as Ichigo watched with a raised eyebrow as Usopp and Luffy took the 'more is better' approach and began to force limes into Yosaku's mouth.

"You're smart Nami, you're like a doctor!" Luffy exclaimed.

"You idiots should know at least this much!" Nami roared at them. "You could die if you don't!" The sputtering of limes brought their attention to Yosaku who sat up between Usopp and Luffy. It was moments later when Yosaku and Johnny had linked arms and were dancing around in circles on the deck of the Going Merry shouting about Yosaku's recovery. When they came to a stop, they took on what was suppose to be a serious pose Ichigo guess.

"Sorry we haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Johnny." He formally introduced followed up by his partner.

"My name is Yosaku."

"Together, we're the pirate bounty hunter duo!" They announced together.

"_So, they even have bounty hunters here." _Ichigo thought to himself as he continued to lean on the railing as he looked down at the duo.

"We used to be colleagues of Big Bro Zoro." Johnny added as Zoro stepped forward.

"I never thought that I'd see you guys here." Zoro told them.

"If you think you're surprised, we would have never imagined that the pirate hunter Zoro would become a pirate." Yosaku told him.

"Tell me about it." Zoro chuckled as he offered his hand as Johnny took it, however when Yosaku went to place his hand on theirs, he collapsed onto the ground, the effects of his illness coming back. Only ensuing a freak out on board once more, the only two not freaking out. Ichigo and Nami, both who knew that it was impossible for that little treatment to the issue at hand would work for very long.

"Yo, Luffy." Ichigo called down from where he was leaning on the railing. "When we're out here on the ocean, we need someone who can keep up our nutrient levels."

"He's right Luffy, it's essential that we all keep up our nutrient levels. Without a doctor, we're screwed if something big happens when it could have been avoided." Luffy rubbed his chin in thought at what the two orange haired teens had told him.

"Then it's settled! We need a seafaring cook!" Luffy laughed as Zoro and Johnny hoisted up Yosaku, Johnny hearing what they had said turned to face them. "Let's go find us a cook!"

"I'm in, then we'll be able to eat great food even on the ship!" Usopp agreed heartily.

"If you're looking for a cook like that, I know just the place and the food is going to blow your mind." Johnny stated.

"Okay! Let's go! Where is it!"

"Consider yourselves warned, this place is close to the Grand Line." The excitement in Luffy's eye grew as Johnny turned to Zoro. "I've heard rumours lately, about a certain hawk eyed man that you've been looking for is there, Big Bro." Ichigo saw the sudden flash of excitement cross Zoro's face as a grin came to his face. It was like he was ready for battle, just who was this hawk eyed guy to get Zoro all fired up like this? He'd have to keep an eye out for this guy.

"Where are we heading, Johnny?"

"Set the heading to North-Northeast, Big Sis." Johnny grinned at her before he and Zoro helped Yosaku into the ship. "To the Sea Restaurant, the Baratie!"

"I said don't call me that!" Nami shouted at him as she began to issue orders to the remaining three on deck so that they could change course. Ichigo smiled as he got to work, at least they had a new destination to head to. Now that he thought about it… where were they going before Johnny had given them a location? Better not to think about it.

"Are we there yet Nami!?" Luffy questioned as the ship began to move only causing Nami to hang her head. It was going to be a long trek to the Sea Restaurant.


	6. Chapter 6

"… Big Sis Nami..." The navigator's eye twitched as she used her great mental fortitude to do her best to ignore the bubbling duo that were now aboard, her patience was waning however. Her left hand was busy twirling a pen in her hand while the right was clenching into a fist beside the half-drawn chart she had started after finding some paper to find in the Going Merry's cupboard. Since leaving Syrup village she had been doing what she could to keep the Going Merry on course, even if their Captain had no idea where the hell they were heading. Nami had already devised a plan to lead them to a deserted island, take the ship and the treasure that was aboard and head back to Cocoyasi Village before any of the crew knew which way was left from right. Instead, now they were heading for a sea restaurant so close to the Grand Line that it was borderline suicide!

"Tea Big Sis?"

"Snacks Big Sis?"

It was all because of these two idiots that she was heading closer and closer to the danger of the Grand Line! Johnny and Yosaku had been aboard for a little less than a day and they were already driving her nuts! Yosaku had recovered, even if at an incredible rate, from his scurvy. Sure he wasn't back at full health but he was energetic enough to dance around the ship with Usopp and Luffy while annoy her alongside Johnny the rest of the time. Apparently since she 'saved' Yosaku's life, both Johnny and Yosaku felt the need to wait on her hand and foot. At the start, it had been fun being pampered like princess or something, but now it was just irritation, she was trying to work and their presence wasn't helping! Not to mention they kept calling her Big Sis!

"Johnny, Yosaku." Nami smiled sweetly, the two bounty hunters yet to understand the malicious intent behind the cute smile of the navigator.

"Yes Big Sis!?" Both chorused immediately.

"GET OUT!" The two bounty hunters flew through the open door of the cabin, over the railing and onto the deck below. Nami huffed as she wiped her hands of a good job well done and sat back down at the table. Picking her pen up again ready to start on the chart she grit her teeth as the cabin door opened, raising her head to glare at the one entering she stopped seeing Ichigo entering.

Why she stopped, she herself didn't understand. Ichigo wasn't like the other members of the crew. She could handle their idiocy, but Ichigo was an enigma. He wasn't someone she believed was normal. Like Zoro, he was a fighter, the battle she had witnessed on the beach between Zoro and Ichigo with the Black Cat Pirates was enough to tell her that. But there was something different from Ichigo to Zoro. The way he held himself, similar to Zoro but in a way that made him stand apart from the swordsman.

"_Not to mention those weird abilities, disappearing into thin air, sure Kuro had done that but he had explained his technique, the way Ichigo had done it was like it was unnatural as if the air shifted around him because he made it do so." _Her eyes followed Ichigo across the small cabin, inconspicuously of course. She hadn't gotten this far by being caught eyeing a potential target. That was another thing about him… there was never opportunity. His defences were always up, as if he was always expecting something to happen, the way his hand unconsciously hovered over the badge in his right pocket, or the way he'd brace himself at a moments notice if anything happened. No… it was like he was expecting something, always. "_It'll be a pain getting that badge from him. But it'll be worth it, a weapon like that is bound to come at a high price."_

"Hey Nami, any time frame of when we'll get to this restaurant?" Ichigo's voice reached her causing her to turn to look at him fully, he was currently looking inside of the pantry.

"Should be in sight any time now." Nami confirmed. "Or at least that's what Johnny says, could be a week at this rate."

"The way Luffy eats, we're not going to survive a week." Ichigo chuckled lightly as he closed the pantry and looked over to her. "What have you got there?" He questioned eyeing the chart she was drawing, Nami always taking pride in her work and had no problem in showing him what she had been drawing for the past few hours.

"This is the course we've made from Syrup village." She explained as he walked over and sat down opposite her, eyeing the map that was now before him. "As a Navigator it's my role to keep a record of our course, chart maps, steer the ship."

"Give orders." He gave her an amused smile.

"Basically." She grinned in return. "What about you, find a crew position yet?" Ichigo shook his head, Nami tilting her head as she eyed him causing the fellow orange haired teen to raise an eyebrow at her. "_Can't hurt to throw some idea's around to pass the time, not like it matters much."_ She shrugged mentally as she sat back in her chair. "In a small crew like this, there's a few essential positions that need to be filled, no matter what the doofus captain says."

"Let me guess, the Navigator spot is taken." Nami grinned in return.

"Like you could read a map." She scoffed, while her opinion of him had instantly changed after he had joined the crew, for good reason in her mind. He was still able to hold a conversation without the need of arguing, food, or just plain stupidity. He was also surprisingly witty, and rather smart once he picked up on the basics which she presumed that he had led a sheltered life up until now. Very sheltered if what he had told her previously was the truth… like locked in a basement sheltered. He didn't even know who Gold Roger was! Unless he was from another world, which was completely unlikely, he had to have been very sheltered.

"Fair point." Ichigo nodded, fully aware that his skills did not involve reading a sea chart. "Luffy's Captain, Zoro is the First Mate or Swordsman, I guess he'll be in command if Luffy's out of it?" Nami shrugged, not having thought of it much but seeing as he was the second one to be recruited, it was only logical that Luffy would but him second in charge… Nami had to stop for a second, a foul taste in her mouth. Just thinking that Luffy was logical had put a bad taste in her mouth. "Luffy stationed Usopp as the crews sniper, although I figured that'd be a good position for him as well."

"Agreed, Usopp has uncanny aim. It's freaky to be honest." Nami told him. "There's the cook, which we'll hopefully pick up at the Baratie, knowing Luffy he'll rope some hopeless sack into this mess of a crew." Ichigo rose an eyebrow at that but Nami decided to continue, ignoring the look. She knew she had to be careful with what she said around Ichigo he was smart, and if she wasn't careful he was bound to pick up on her scheme. "The next priority after the cook is definitely a doctor, someone with the capability of dealing with the injuries these morons are going to get, yourself included. If the Grandline is the set destination, we'll definitely need a doctor."

"The Grand Line is dangerous then?" Nami leaned forward and flicked Ichigo in the forehead causing him to scowl at her.

"Were you not listening to anything I told you last time? The Grand Line is the most dangerous sea in the world, there are pirates far stronger then what we're capable of, not to mention the other anomalies that we have no idea about. The Grand Line is not just another ocean, it's like an entire new world. Between the simple blue seas, it's like hell." She huffed as she crossed her arms, sitting back in her seat as she gave him a half glare, she was considering taking back everything, he was just an idiot too.

"You been?" Ichigo questioned.

"Well, no..." Nami shook her head. "But I've heard enough stories to be wary, I'm not an idiot like some people." She huffed turning away. "We're getting off point, we're deciding a place for you on the crew." She told him.

"Well, I guess I could be the lookout for now." Ichigo shrugged, having had a minor thought about it since they had been talking. "I've basically been up in the crow's nest since we left Syrup Village, if Luffy wants me in another position..." Ichigo shrugged. "Guess we'll see how it works out." Nami thought for a few moments, usually the spot of lookout would simply be the snipers, or gunner position of the crew. But Usopp could barely function with the boredom on his own, plus he was always busy with either Luffy or tinkering with the items he had brought from home. Zoro slept constantly, Ichigo was the only one alert and ready at all times. For now, the lookout position would be perfect for him.

"Sure, I guess that could work." Nami nodded to herself. "Just keep an eye out over the sea, you'll have to get an eyeglass, or binoculars since I've looked all over the Merry and haven't been able to find one yet. Whichever is your preference really." Ichigo nodded, it would probably be better to have something rather to rely solely on his ability of Reiatsu Chikaku. Not everyone would have an easy to read presence, nor could he expect large forces like back on Syrup Village. After all, he had never been truly trained how to master his Reikaku. The two orange haired teens continued to speak for a while, Nami explained some details that came with the position of being the crew's lookout. The basic necessity of time equals opportunity. The earlier that Ichigo spotted something, the more time they had to assess the situation and come up with a plan to deal with it.

"Big Sis!" The door to the cabin crashed open causing Nami to scowl as Yosaku puffed and panted in the doorway.

"I told you to get out." Nami growled at the bounty hunter, however Yosaku just pointed over his shoulder.

"We're here, the Baratie is just ahead." Nami blinked before looking at Ichigo who shrugged. The two got up and headed for the door, Yosaku stepping to the side to let them out as they stepped out onto the deck looking out over the bow to see the floating restaurant straight ahead. Ichigo had to blink several times as the ship came into view, while he had already resigned himself to seeing weird things on the ocean… it didn't mean he couldn't be surprised by what he saw. After all… a ship wasn't suppose to look like a fish, was it?

As the Baratie came into view, it's features began to stand out more and more as they grew closer to the fairly large ship. It was built in an oval shape, with normal masts but has a fish as a front-piece/head. The Baratie has a round bottom. A small array of cannons are lined on the sides, which would obviously be used for battle, whether defensive or offensive Ichigo wasn't sure. The crazy people who built this ship, had actually put a restaurant on the ship itself.

Ichigo had to rub his forehead, mentally reminding himself that he had to accept this world for what it was, even all the weird stuff he was going to come across. He just hoped that a Rubber Man, a Sheep Man and a fish ship restaurant was as weird as it was going to get… while he wanted to be optimistic that that was the limit of the weirdness, he wasn't having much luck convincing himself that, that was the limit of the weirdness he would come across.

Johnny was standing up at the bow with Luffy, Usopp and Zoro who were all looking towards the Baratie with grins on their faces. Seemingly more accepting of the fish shaped ship then what Ichigo was. Luffy and Usopp began to cheer at how 'cool' the place looked causing Ichigo to sigh, maybe joining the first band of pirates he came across wasn't the best choice. The sound of a bell ringing brought Ichigo's attention to the side, along with Nami's as a massive ship came up the side of the small caravel. Ichigo instantly spotted the massive white letters writing out 'MARINE' across the Port side of the ship. Ichigo tilted his head as he stared up at it.

"A Marine ship!?" Yosaku shouted in surprise. "All the way out here!?"

"_If there's pirates, there would obviously be a Navy set on stopping the pirates I guess."_ Ichigo mused as he took the ship in, it was obviously built for battle with how many cannon's it had. "_The Marines."_ All the canon port holes were opened causing Ichigo to raise an eyebrow, was it open fire on a pirate vessel without even an order of surrender out here or something? His hand drifted over his badge.

"Hey Luffy, they're not going to start firing on us, are they?" Usopp questioned quietly to Luffy who shrugged as he looked up at the Marine ship without a care in the world.

"Damn it, just my luck." Zoro huffed. "Of course the Marines would show up." Ichigo and Nami headed up to where the others were, while Ichigo noticed that Yosaku and Johnny had snuck back into the cabin, hiding behind the door observing what was going on from a 'hiding spot'. Ichigo heard them mutter about questioning if the Marines knew if they weren't pirates or not. Ichigo had to scoff at that, they were just looking after their own hides. Seeing a figure in a white pin striped suit appear on the deck, heading for the rail that was closest to the Merry Ichigo readied himself for anything that might go down, he had no idea how pirates were

"I've never seen that pirate flag before." The man muttered as he approached, placing a hand on the railing that was covered in an iron bolt knuckle duster, it was presumed that his other hand hidden in his pocket housed a similar knuckle duster. "I am Lieutenant Iron Fist Fullbody!" He declared with a sense of pride in his own words, as if it was a title that he had earned. "But you can just call me sir." Ichigo had to sweat drop, was this guy serious? "Who is the Captain of this vessel, identify yourself at once!" Without hesitation, Luffy stepped forward and with the same tone that Fullbody announced himself with, Luffy did the same.

"My name is Luffy!" Before he could continue, Usopp stepped up in front of him.

"And my name, is Usopp!" The sniper declared as Luffy gave him an irritated look in return but turned back to the Marine to continue as he took another step forward in front of Usopp.

"We only made out Flag the day before yesterday."

"That's right Marine, and I'm the one who drew it!" Usopp declared again once more stepping in front of Luffy causing the Captain's eyebrow to twitch. The Marine simply cocked his head to the side with a snide little smirk as he saw he was dealing with nothing but amateurs.

"Huh, you did, did you?" He questioned, getting a nod from both Luffy and Usopp, the duo unsure of who he was addressing not realising it had been a rhetorical question. "Is that so..." He continued as he glanced over the other members of the crew, his attention stopping on the duo bounty hunters trying to conceal themselves behind the cabin door with little to no luck on their part. "Hey, you two right there." Fullbody spoke up. "I've seen you before, you're the bounty hunter duo that go after the small fish."

"Uh…"

"Well… we..."

"So, you've finally been caught by pirates." Johnny tried to answer in return but to the bounty hunter the Marine was a little intimidating. "Eh he he now that's a laugh." He chuckled lightly before a beautiful blonde woman in a dress came up behind him, lacing her arm with his.

"Hey, come on Baby let's get going." She told him.

"Sure." Fullbody nodded as the two turned, walking away from the railing. Johnny no longer able to take the disrespect that they had received from the duo rushed forward reaching into his jacket and pulling out a stack of paper.

"Hey wait a minute! You think small time bounty hunters would go after these guys!?" The bounty hunter shouted throwing the pages on the deck, however received no answer from the Marine as the pages of bounties floated to the deck, scattering across the wooden surface gaining the attention of Nami.

It didn't take a genius to know what was coming next, as the Marines on deck had been given an order out of earshot and started to move about. Johnny and Yosaku were speaking with Nami about the bounties below as one in particular seemed to grab her attention. While Ichigo would have asked who the bounty was of, there was something more critical to deal with. The canon being aimed right at them. Before Ichigo or Zoro who had seen the commotion on deck of the Marine ship could give out a warning the Marines fired.

**BOOM~!**

The sounding explosion was much larger than the ones of the Merry's cannons since the Marines ship cannons were much larger and more powerful than the pirate crew.

"Leave it to me!" Luffy shouted jumping up onto the railing so that he was sitting on it, his legs wrapping around the wound in an impossible way as he flung both arms outwards his right wrapping around the main mast of the ship while his left grabbed onto the ear of the goat figurehead of the Merry. _**"Gum Gum!"**_ The cannon ball hit the teen directly in the stomach sending him flying back across the deck of the ship, far off the side of the Merry and some ways over the open ocean. _**"Slingshot!"**_

However the force that the cannon ball had been shot at, along with being at such a close proximity, it looked to be that Luffy hadn't been expecting the strength behind the shot and his grip on the figurehead broke a piece off the ear of the goat and he was sent swinging to his right, re-aiming the trajectory of where he was going to shoot the cannonball. Right at the Baratie. The cannonball launched forward over the bow straight for the restaurant as Luffy impacted the back of the figurehead.

It seemed after all the commotion, the Marines had been given the order to stand down giving the Going Merry the ability to dock without much trouble as Zoro dropped the anchor off of the ship to get them stationary. It didn't take long for the restaurant to send a couple of chefs to collect the one responsible. While Nami was ready to blame it on the Marines, Luffy idiotically told him that he had sent the cannon ball flying resulting in the Chefs taking him to talk with the head chef of the Baratie. It was over an hour when Nami had, had enough and decided that since they were here and there had been no sign of Luffy for over an hour, they should just go in and eat without him. Ichigo seeing no problem with that, along with Zoro untethered the small boat that had been docked alongside the Going Merry since Johnny and Yosaku had come aboard.

Both Johnny and Yosaku chose to stay aboard the Merry, to fix the railing that had been initially broken during the scuffle between Johnny and Luffy when Johnny had first come aboard and started to destroy the place, leaving the four pirates to head towards the Baratie. Before they had even managed to tie the boat to the Baratie there was a loud crash from inside, drawing their attention. Glancing at the others Ichigo saw that they were slightly surprised but since it didn't effect them it didn't warren that much concern.

Stepping off of the small boat with Zoro, the two headed towards the Baratie front doors Zoro reached up and pushing them in only to find a scene unfolding within the restaurant. There was a blonde man in a black suit, a cigarette hanging from his mouth as he held up the same Marine, Iron Fist Fullbody by the neck bloody and battered from an intense beating that he had received. The blonde woman that had accompanied the Marine was completely stunned and obviously frightened by the man's ferocity towards a Marine.

It wasn't long before another member of the restaurant staff came and lectured the blonde man who simply discarded Fullbody without a care, not caring for the man at all. The four pirates simply stood and watched from the doorway, the entire restaurant was watching the situation unfold in stunned silence. When Fullbody finally worked up the nerve, he threatened to have the entire restaurant shut down only for the blonde sous chef to react rashly needing to be held back by several other members of the restaurant staff. Only when the ceiling caved in and Luffy along with the Head Chef of the restaurant came tumbling down did it break up the commotion of what was going on. When Zeff removed himself from atop Luffy where he had landed Luffy shot up, taking a deep breath.

"I can breath again!" Another member of the restaurant came up to ask Zeff if he was alright, or if he was injured, the Head Chef ignored him and looked up at the ceiling with an annoyed expression before punching Luffy back down to the ground with a growl.

"My ceiling! Something else that will need to be fixed! This is all your fault, ya brat!"

"How is this my fault! You attacked me!" Luffy shouted back at him. Zeff and Luffy shouted at one another until the other cooks restraining Sanji pleaded for the head chef's help with the cook. It was clear to the pirates that Sanji respected the head chef at least as he listened to him without much of a fuss, sure he called him names and received a kick to the face via peg leg, but he listened to what Zeff had to say on the matter. Not only did Zeff give the sous chef an asskicking, but also the Marine Lieutenant who Zeff told to get out of his restaurant.

While the argument was going on, the four pirates, Zoro, Ichigo, Nami and Usopp decided to find themselves a table to watch the whole thing play out. It was only after a Marine soldier had come in, apologising about an escaped prisoner did things start to truly become serious. The entire restaurant was up in a panic as a man shot the Marine soldier in the back before entering the restaurant and sitting down at a table. It didn't take long for the large waiter, that oddly reminded Ichigo of the old cartoon character Popeye to throw the escaped pirate out on his ass.

Following this, they were told that Luffy had to work at the restaurant for an entire year to work off the damage that had been done to the restaurant. When they had seen Luffy next, it had been a riot of laughter.


	7. Chapter 7

In the days that had passed at the sea restaurant, Luffy hadn't been able to strike a deal with the Head Chef of the Baratie and was forced to work off his debt that would last a year. He had been forced to clean, kitchen work, basic chores, take orders and a variety of other tasks befitting that of a chore boy around the restaurant.

Or… at least he tempted to take on the chores he had been given, only to cause a bigger mess then what he had begun with! Broken dishes, dirt literally swept under the mat, if it got that far, food eaten before it could be served. In the days that Luffy worked at the Baratie… it was hell for all of the Chefs aboard along with most of the customers. To Luffy's crew it was hilarious. Ichigo had to wonder if their was actually something mentally wrong with Luffy, when he brought it up with Nami she told him to forget about it, that it wasn't worth the trouble.

The days that passed, the rest of the crew simply bided their time, waiting for Luffy to come up with something just so that they could move on. They were hear to recruit a cook, not give up their Captain. Ichigo could almost see the irony in it. Ichigo grabbed a meal from the restaurant from time to time, but to do so he had to borrow money from Nami since he was literally flat broke now that he was here, Zoro and Usopp were the same and were racking up a debt to the orange haired navigator as a result, yeah she got free food from the love sick chef while she made money off the poor losers, so when Usopp suggested that they try fishing, Ichigo was all for it. Sure he had never done it before, but how hard could it be?

Very, very hard and very, very boring. With the Merry docked at the Baratie as it was, the water was always restless with the coming and going ships meaning the fish never came near the floating restaurant and they never caught anything. After every failed attempt, they could hear Nami laughing off in the distance in a maniacal way. When they did eat at the restaurant they always messed with Luffy to the point he just got in more trouble by the other Chef's, it was a seemingly way to pass the time for Zoro at least.

Over the course of time, Ichigo began to note that Nami was becoming withdrawn from everyone on the crew, keeping more to herself no longer joining in on the fun in teasing Luffy. He had even seen her a few times just staring at the bounties that Yosaku and Johnny had.

But, as the days passed that they were stuck here waiting for Luffy, Ichigo's mind began to settle and with that came the thoughts he had wished to avoid. Nami noticed it first when she made a passing comment saying he had bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. When he did sleep his subconscious mind always drifted to home and to stop that from happening, he pushed going to sleep away from his mind. But the lack of sleep was getting to him, he was less responsive than what he should be, his mood had deteriorated to the point Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku down right avoided him unless they got chewed out for looking at him the wrong way. Eventually, Ichigo's body couldn't take it and he needed rest.

Having launched himself up to the crow's nest after breakfast when the others were still inside pestering Luffy, he got as comfortable as he could in the small space and lay down to sleep, just to replenish his stamina. One or two hours should be enough, he had thought to himself as he closed his eyes, simply letting sleep come.

* * *

She was crying. When had been the last time he had seen her cry like this? It wasn't after he defeated Aizen, no they were tears of joy. The battle of Ulquiorra atop of Las Noches, when he had in a literal sense been dead. She had been crying so much, it was what had reached him the most and had pulled him back and forced his inner hollow to act. But now she was crying again, the sadness was so much more present than that time… her hands raised up in front of her, extended towards him but not as a gesture of help, her cheeks were flooded with tears as more dripped down her chin, the golden glow of her Shun Shun Rikka in it's full effect.

Being used on him.

Ichigo himself was stunned as he lay there on the rooftop of Tsukishima's mansion, pain coursed through his entire body as it was showered with golden glow beneath the shield of Orihime's power. Where it had once been used to heal his injuries, was now tearing him apart bit by bit. He didn't even have legs to stand on at this point they had been completely rejected from his knees down. Both he and Orihime were helpless to stop what was happening, Ichigo would never bring himself to hurt her and Orihime wasn't in control. Tsukishima who stood behind Orihime was grinning as he leaned down and whispered unheard words into Orihime's ear… anger flooded through him as more tears flowed down Orihime's cheeks as she nodded and the erosion of his body became quicker, even more pain flooded through him as he cried out in complete anguish as his body was ripped apart, for a moment it all stopped before he spotted the movement of Tsukishima's sword pierce Orihime again, using his ability once more and the destruction of his body was even more forceful than before.

What could he say to snap her out of it, at this point her eyes were lifeless like she was a mindless doll, just a plaything for Tsukishima to control. Gritting his teeth as he saw the battle between Ginjo and Chad overhead, Tsukishima had made it that Ichigo had no support. The only one on his side was completely occupied with Chad's outrageous strength.

"It's over, Kurosaki Ichigo." Tsukishima stated as he traced a hand along the curve of Orihime's neck causing rage to grow within him once more. "Do it." The order was simple but Orihime, in the state that she was in, even now resisted, but with Tsukishima's ability warping her mind, it only lasted a second before Ichigo's entire body began to disintegrate before them.

"TSUKISHIMA!" Ichigo roared as he reached out, only for his hand to already be missing from his wrist.

"ICHIGO!"

* * *

Ichigo's eyes snapped open as he shot up into a sitting position, Riruka's cry of his name reverberating in the depths of his mind as she had come up from the mansion to see his state, his mind was slightly foggy on what happened after that, the pain had been unbearable at that stage. Even now, the lingering feeling of his body being obliterated by Orihime's power could be felt. He would never forget that painful presence of his body being turned into nothing. Leaning back on the rail of the crow's nest, he looked up towards the sky, his eyes landing on the Jolly Roger of his crew flapping in the wind. How had Orihime's power gone from rejecting his very being, to sending him off to this world? Sitting there for a while, taking in deep breaths to steady himself he came to notice something else that was amiss, the ship was moving. Sitting up he groaned, having slept at an awkward angle and looked around, the Baratie was nowhere in sight.

_"I guess Luffy got out of the year of work… or we just bailed."_ Ichigo thought to himself with a yawn, not having slept all that well. Standing up, his joints were tense, he'd have to get a pillow or something up here if he was going to start sleeping up here and with his position as lookout being signed off by Luffy over a meal at the Baratie, he'd be up here most of the time. Stretching his arms above his head he let out another yawn before looking over the side of the railing of the crow's nest, however his brow furrowed, Luffy and Usopp weren't doing something childish, Zoro wasn't napping in his usual spot. The only one on deck was Nami, she was standing towards the bow just, staring off into the water.

Green static light ignited down to his feet as he disappeared from the crow's nest, appearing on the deck without effort he stretched his arms once more as he looked around. It was way too quiet for it to be normal. Heading towards the bow where Nami had yet to notice him approaching he came to a stop as he heard her speak.

"They really were good people." Her soft voice drifted back to him on the wind making him frown slightly. "If we meet again, I wonder… will they still let me join them?" Her voice trembled as her shoulders began to shake, Ichigo seeing her hands clench as tears fell onto the railing of the Merry she was leaning up against. "Will we ever… meet again? I want to be free, soon..." Ichigo watched as Nami crouched down and hugged her knees, crying as she muttered the name Bell-mère over and over again. Deciding he should announce his presence, he spoke up.

"I don't know about everyone else." Nami's head shot up as she turned, falling on her butt as she stared up at Ichigo with wide eyes, tears still running down her cheeks. Ichigo glanced away from the crying girl as he scratched at his cheek, he had never been able to correctly comfort someone who was crying, he just didn't know how too. "But with what I just heard, it sounds like you've got no choice in the matter."

"Ichigo!" Nami snapped, wiping away the tears from her face. "What are you doing here!? Why are you on board, I thought you were back on the Baratie!" Ichigo ignored her shouting as he walked to the side, the Navigator glaring at him as her eyes traced his path to where he leaned up against the railing.

"You stole the Merry then." Ichigo stated having come to the conclusion that Nami had done so, glancing down at her to see her glare, it was more serious than the one she gave the others when they did something to piss her off. "Abandoned Luffy, Zoro and Usopp back at the Baratie." He added with a sigh, he could tell that something had been bothering her since they ran into Johnny and Yosaku and she saw those wanted posters. He didn't think that she would do something this drastic though. _"Just how far did we get? How long was I asleep?"_ He mused, it was unlike him to sleep through this much trouble had he really been that tired?

"That's right! I stole the Merry, left everyone back at the Baratie during the confusion of Don Krieg arriving, it's what I do! I'm a thief that hates pirates! I only steal from pirates for..." Ichigo's glance stopped her dead as she lowered her head slightly, his eyes were serious like the first time she had seen him when he had been pulled out of the water before they arrived on Usopp's island, she hadn't seen him serious since that moment. "I'm not fooling you, am I?" She questioned, her hair hanging down around her face.

"Not with what I overheard earlier, no." Ichigo stated with a shrug before silence drifted between the two for some time. "Where are we headed?" He asked only for Nami to get to her feet and head across the ship, Ichigo leisurely following after her. She entered the cabin where the Merry's rudder control was and checked that the ship was still on course.

"You can't stop me." Nami told him as she glared over her shoulder. "So don't even try and stop me, you can have the ship but all the treasure is mine."

"I won't have to stop you." Ichigo told her. "Luffy won't be long, probably accuse me of being your accomplice or something." He muttered under his breath having come to know how Luffy jumped to conclusions. "You've known that idiot longer than I have, you really think he's just going to let you walk away from his crew?"

"Shut up, it's none of your business what I do." Nami growled at him. "Just go back to the Baratie, swim for all I care." She huffed angrily. "How'd you even get aboard before I set sail anyway!?" She shouted at him, clearly frustrated.

"After breakfast I headed up to the crow's nest for some sleep, thought I might get some peace and quiet up there." He told her, her eyes widening slightly before she set her face in a scowl, not one capable of matching Ichigo's usual one but it was clear she was annoyed that she had missed that, she thought she had the perfect getaway until a few minutes ago. Adjusting the rudder control slightly she sighed gently.

"I'm going home, to the Conomi Island archipelago..." Nami told him, answering his earlier questioned of where they were heading. "I don't care what you do, take the Merry back to the Baratie for all I care but don't take one step off of this ship, or you're dead!" Ichigo rose an eyebrow slightly at the threat, it was clear to him that Nami wasn't a fighter, sure she made idle threats to the others which usually ended up in a physical beat down of some kind, but she was genuine in saying that he was dead if he got off the ship.

"First of all, I probably couldn't navigate my way out of a paper bag let alone sail this ship back to the Baratie." Ichigo told her. "Secondly, there's something on that island that you clearly don't want me to see, which only makes me curious as to what it is."

"It's none of your business, Ichigo!" Nami shouted with clenched hands, only for her head to shoot back in surprise as Ichigo flicked her in the forehead surprising her as she rose a hand up as Ichigo lowered his own back down into his pocket.

"You'll come to know this about me Nami." Ichigo began as he turned and headed for the door. "When it comes to my friends, I have a habit of making things my business." Nami's eyes widened as Ichigo exited the cabin, closing the door behind him. She quickly wiped another tear that was beginning to form as she rose a hand up to her left shoulder, gripping it tightly. Moving to the cabin door she peered out of porthole window, just to see Ichigo standing on the deck below leaning on the railing just looking out into the ocean.

"You're making it even more difficult you idiot..." she whispered quietly, already having a hard enough time of abandoning the ones that had come to accept her. Over the course of her time being a member of the crew, she had truly enjoyed herself. Yes there was the idiocy of her crew mates, but even then they had the qualities of good friends._"What am I supposed to do, Bell-mère?"_ She thought to herself before going back to the rudder control to keep her mind occupied on the course to her home.

It wasn't a short journey for the two, it actually took a full day and a half before they reached the islands that made up the archipelago of Nami's home. In that time, little was said between the two of them, just Nami giving Ichigo a few orders to adjust the sails from time to time which he had no problem following.

The Going Merry had just docked at an unmanned dock lining the island when Nami, who was dressed in a green camisole with dark green flower shapes, tight black pants with two yellow rings on the sides, and light orange high-heeled sandals, jumped over the side of the rail landing effortlessly on the dock with a bag on her shoulder. When Ichigo had first seen the rather large tattoo on her arm he hadn't asked questions after he saw just how self conscious Nami was of showing it to him.

Glancing back up at Ichigo, the two locked eyes for a minute before she gave him a rather forceful grin.

"I'll cya around, Ichigo. It won't be too hard to get back to the Baratie, even a novice could do it." Before Nami could even comprehend the movement, Ichigo was standing beside her.

"Probably, but I'm sure Luffy is already on his way." Ichigo stated simply wandering off down the track.

_"That moron!"_ Nami growled as she chased after Ichigo. "Didn't I tell you, if you stay here you'll die!"

"No, you said if I step foot off the ship I'll be dead, hasn't happened yet." Ichigo retorted causing Nami to grit her teeth as she glared at his back. "I thought you had somewhere to be?" Nami clenched her hand into a fist ready to run up and smack the teen before holding off on her anger. Ichigo glanced back over his shoulder at her, it was again now that he saw the defenceless Nami that had been crying when he had awoke from being in the crow's nest. "Nami." The girl jolted slightly as she looked up to see his eyes more serious than she had seen them before, she found herself averting her gaze from his own. "What's going on here?" Shifting the bag on her shoulder she walked towards him keeping her eyes down.

"It's none of your business, just leave." She whispered as she forcefully pushed past him, Ichigo grunting slightly and stepping to the side to get out of her way. Ichigo simply watched Nami rush off down the path and off into the distance before disappearing around a bend causing Ichigo to sigh, he truly hadn't expected to get an answer out of her. Scratching at the back of his head, he glanced over his shoulder at the Merry simply sitting there. However something caught his attention, the all too familiar rattle of a chain. Ichigo turned to the ghost that now stood beside him watching after Nami as he had been. The ghost had, a rather unique light pink hairstyle similar to a Mohawk. The green chequered shirt that she wore housed the chain of fate that had been severed upon her death, a large portion of her shirt was covered in blood showing that she had been shot in the chest.

"Damn that Brat." The ghost of Bell-mère muttered. "Every time she comes back here, she just feels worse and worse." She continued to mutter as she stood beside the teenager, unaware that she herself could be seen.

"You know Nami then." Ichigo stated causing the woman's eyes to widen as she glanced at Ichigo who glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, Bell-mère looked behind herself only to see that there was no one else around. "Yeah, I can see you." He told her causing the woman's jaw to drop as she stared completely dumbfounded. "Care to tell me what's going on?" The woman blinked a few times, unsure of what the hell the orange haired teen was going on about.

"You can really see me?" The woman questioned, just to make sure.

"Yeah, I've been able to see ghosts since I was a kid." Ichigo nodded as he eyed the wound on her chest. "From the look of you, you had one hell of a death."

"Yeah, you could say that." The woman chuckled before a frown came to her face as she turned to look where Nami had headed off too. "Nami's my daughter." Ichigo's eyes widened slightly at that, his hand unconsciously forming a fist hidden from sight. "Adopted mind you, but still my daughter..." She glanced at Ichigo once more. "I can't remember the last time I talked with someone."

"How long?" Ichigo questioned.

"Eight years." She breathed out surprising Ichigo as he turned and reached out, grabbing the chain of fate attached to her chest causing her to smack his hand away and glare at him. "Where the hell do you think you're touching." She glared.

"Has this ever eroded?" Ichigo questioned seriously causing the ghost to tilt her head slightly as she looked down at the chain.

"No, not that I'm aware of." She gained a look of worry seeing the confusion in his eyes. "Is it meant too?" Ichigo scowled as he looked at the chain, it had more that seven links still connected. He wasn't an expert but he was sure that the chain corroded over time to signify the plus losing itself to become a hollow.

_"Eight years, and she hasn't passed on, or turned into a hollow?"_ Ichigo mused to himself as he glanced at Bell-mère to see her once more looking in the direction that Nami had headed. _"Just how strong is her will to stay by her daughter?"_ Bell-mère, sensing Ichigo's gaze turned back to the teen.

"You came here on that ship with Nami." Bell-mère gestured to the Merry behind them. "How well do you know Nami?"

"Not well enough it would seem." Ichigo sighed, everything that she had told him and the rest of the crew, how were they suppose to know what was the truth and what wasn't? "She was apart of the crew I'm with, she was our navigator. She ended up stealing the ship with me on it, without knowing that I was aboard." Bell-mère gave a somewhat awkward grin as she rested a hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"I'm sorry for the trouble." Ichigo could see that she was trying to hold back her snickering as much as she could causing Ichigo's eyebrow to twitch, she was proud of Nami… that was good at least. "You said you wanted to know what was going on here, right?" Bell-mère started getting a nod from Ichigo. "Well, follow me. I've got a place we can talk, it's not a short story."

"Sure thing." Ichigo nodded as he followed after Bell-mère.


	8. Chapter 8

Ichigo sat on the grass, his hair being brushed by the wind from the ocean. He was seated upon a grassy plateau that overlooked the endless blue of the sea. He could remember a time where he would be angry at what had happened, forced himself into a depression. But he now knew he couldn't fall into such a state. There was always the lingering hope of Kisuke finding a way, but Ichigo honestly wasn't counting on it. Seventeen months he had been without his power, hounded by the feeling of uselessness. But here… it was different. Not to say he would ever forget the home he came from, it's just he was mature enough now to accept his circumstance. There was no way home, this is where he would live out the rest of his life. The sooner he came to terms with that the better off he would be. It wasn't easy, but it was reality.

The ocean spread out before him was honestly an unbelievably beautiful sight. He had been to the beach a few times with his family and occasionally with friends, but looking at this ocean… it was strange, he felt a seemingly never ending feeling to simply go out and explore it. As if the very sea itself was somehow calling to him. While he still felt the ache of loss after what had transpired with him, he couldn't help but feel calm at the sight of the ocean before him. Maybe that was the truth behind this so called great pirate age, sure the One Piece would be a goal to achieve but something had to be calling all those that became pirates other than the promise of gold. Perhaps they all had this same pull for such an adventure.

Bell-mère stood beside him however her gaze wasn't on the ocean like Ichigo's own, instead she was looking off back over the island. A small wooden makeshift headstone sat on a mound of dirt that hadn't been disturbed in years but was still present just a few feet behind Ichigo, it was where Bell-mère was buried. The woman had been surprised when Ichigo had offered his respects to the grave when he had first arrived. In truth, the ghost was still completely stunned that she was actually communicating with a living being once more, and more to the point, Ichigo was seemingly use to this situation.

"_Geeze Nami, you sure get yourself mixed up in a bunch of weird people."_ Bell-mère thought with a smile as she glanced over her shoulder to see Ichigo staring off at the ocean, a small smile tugging at her lips. "You may not look like the pirate you say you are, but you sure as hell look out at the ocean like one." Ichigo glanced back to look at her, a surprising smile coated his face; she believed it to be the first smile she had seen him give.

"Just drawn to it, is all." Ichigo explained to her getting a nod from the ghost. It had been a while since the two had met, Bell-mère had given Ichigo a version of the story of Conomi Island, how it had been a nightmare for the islanders, even more so for Nami. It had pained Ichigo to hear how much Bell-mère wanted to help Nami, and her other daughter Nojiko, but not being able to do anything but watch as the horror of the Fishman continued on.

For years she had watched her home, her friends and family be subjugated by the Fishmen without any means to help or aide her loved ones. Ichigo was truly stunned that she hadn't turned into a hollow the entire time that she had been among the deceased. It showed just how much willpower she had to stay herself or how much information he was lacking on this worlds afterlife. Kisuke would have a field day here.

"Nami sure has a history." Ichigo breathed out quietly, the story he had been given was not one he was okay with. "I never would have thought she hid such a haunted past." Unconsciously his hand slipped into his pocket, reaching for his badge, seemingly remembering the events of his own past and what had led him up to this moment. While no way did his childhood hold such horrors like Nami's nightmare did apart from the loss of his mother, but he had his own wounds to bare. However as he reached into his pocket… it was empty.

Standing up abruptly surprising Bell-mère as she gave him a curious look as he started to hastily empty his pockets, checking the ones in his pants, his jacket, the inner linings of his jacket. Bell-mère had no idea what had the teen so worked up. His badge, it was gone. That's when it hit him. Nami's forceful push to barge past him before she hurriedly rushed off.

"She nicked something off of you, didn't she?" Bell-mère questioned, Ichigo could tell she was smirking without looking at her.

"Don't act so proud! What kind of parent would be proud of their daughter stealing!?" Ichigo roared, face furious as he already began to march away from Bell-mère who was trying to stifle her laughter. Bell-mère having regained somewhat of her own composure blinked once then twice before her eyes widened as she turned to see Ichigo already further away then she had expected him to be. He was heading somewhere with no intention of stopping it would seem. Whatever it was that her daughter had stolen, it was clear Ichigo wasn't going to let her keep it.

"Where the hell do you think you're going!?" Bell-mère shouted down the hill towards him.

"To get my damn badge back!" Ichigo shouted back up without turning to face the ghost, not seeing the sorrowful look on Bell-mère's face as she watched a teenager run off to where the horrors of this island waited. "_It's the only thing I've got left."_ Ichigo scowled leaving Bell-mère behind, the orange haired ran off in the last known location of Nami, he'd find her by starting where he left off, at least he hoped so.

It took a while to retrace his steps not having paid that much attention to the trail when Bell-mère had led him up to the grave site, having been intent on listening to Bell-mère's words. But finally reaching the road that led up to the Merry he headed in the direction that Nami had run off in. However, before long, Ichigo was lost. The numerous rice fields the similar paths and not noticeable landmarks, the teen was walking around in circles before he knew it. Soon enough, Ichigo spotted a town off in the distance and sighed, maybe someone could give him directions to track down Nami to find this Arlong Park that Bell-mère told him about, if Nami was apart of Arlong's crew then she'd be there, right? It was only logical.

However as Ichigo came up to the town, his eyes widened at the state it was in. Building's were literally flipped on their roofs, the road through the centre of the town was completely destroyed leaving a crevice as if a giant monster had ripped right through the centre of town. Seeing a broken sign off to the side he walked towards it, clearing the dust and grass away from it. 'GOSA' was written across the sign. Had the Fishman done this? Bell-mère mentioned something about a monthly tribute and there were dire consequences should those not be able to come up with the money. It was clear that these Fishman meant business when it came to paying the tribute.

Walking through the town Ichigo's scowl set in place as he saw the obvious signs of blood and destruction through the ruined houses and across the street. It was even more surprising that there weren't any ghosts present in this area. If the town had been wiped out then there would be at least a few ghosts, but even Bell-mère had told him she hadn't seen another ghost on the island. Something just didn't feel right about the supernatural here, as if they didn't abide by the laws of what he himself knew. He was in a different world after all he couldn't expect that the souls here would go to the Soul Society or Hueco Mundo. Stopping by a house as he heard rustling inside, his scowl fixed as he pulled his hands into fists. However relaxed his hands as he saw a young boy crawl from the top story window which was now closest to the ground carrying a bag and a sword.

The boy had tears in his eyes as he got to his feet, the obvious sight of a mark of being hit by someone covered his face. Even kids here didn't get a break from the Fishman it seemed, if Bell-mère's story had any truth behind it he shouldn't be surprised seeing what happened with Nami. Shaking his head to get his mind back on track on finding the damn thief, the boy spotted him.

"N-Nojiko! Someone's out here!" The boy cried in a panic as he backed up against the house, Ichigo raising an eyebrow as another figure appeared from the window the boy had climbed out of. Just as Bell-mère had described her oldest adopted daughter. Nojiko, Nami's older sister. Finally, maybe he could get some answers as to where he could find Nami. Nojiko barely gave Ichigo a glance as she handed the bag she had with her to the boy.

"Here Chabo, another bag of your clothes. You won't be coming back here for a while and if your mother hears that you came back here, we'll both be in trouble." Nojiko told the boy getting a slight sniffle and nod from the boy as Nojiko sighed gently, crouching down before the boy examining the bruise forming on the boy's face. "She didn't mean it, she was just stopping you from doing something stupid."

"She's a mean witch." The boy muttered under his breath before rustling in his pockets pulling forth a large wad of bills. "She threw this at me." Nojiko sighed and pushed it back to him, urging him to keep it.

"Give it to your Mother, tell her to put it towards the next tribute." Chabo nodded. "Now go on, don't let me catch you sneaking off to Gosa again, otherwise I'll have Genzo lock you up, got it?" Chabo nodded before he turned and ran off with the two bags he had gotten from inside the house. Nojiko sighed and turned back to Ichigo, the look of confusion crossed her eyes as he walked up towards her. "You're not from around here."

"No." Ichigo shook his head. "I'm looking for someone."

"Oh yeah? If they're form Gosa, they're likely dead." Nojiko told him, her tone stern however Ichigo didn't bother with it. "You better get out of here before you're caught, the Fishman catch you and you're as good as dead yourself." She continued as she began to walk away. "Don't head East, if you do you'll run straight into them."

"So Arlong Park is East?" Ichigo questioned turning in the direction Nojiko had told him. "Thanks." He stated beginning to walk East causing Nojiko to falter as she turned to watch him straight down the path that would lead him into the jaws of the Fishman.

"Are you an idiot!" Nojiko shouted running past him and holding her arms out blocking his path halting the teen in his advance. "If you go to Arlong Park, you'll be dead! Do you have a death wish!?"

"The person I'm looking for is there." Ichigo stated. "She stole something from me and it's important." He added. "Nothing will stop me from getting it back."

"You're after Nami then." Nojiko started getting a nod from Ichigo. "Surprising you tracked her all the way here, she usually makes a clean break from the people she robs." She explained, Ichigo's scowl increased. He could sense it in her voice, that slight hint of pride in her words, just as Bell-mère was proud of Nami's actions Nojiko hid it well but she was proud of Nami.

"_Like mother like daughter."_ Ichigo scoffed mentally. "Look, Nami took something important from me. As soon as I get it back, I'll get back to my ship wait for the rest of my crew and let the Captain decide on what he wants to do about Nami abandoning the crew." Ichigo explained figuring Luffy would do something about it. "Now, get out of my way." Nojiko was slightly baffled as Ichigo pushed past her, Nami had robbed an entire crew and hadn't given them the slip? That didn't sound like her sister in the slightest. This was just going to cause trouble and the Fishmen might take it out on the villagers. Gritting her teeth she encased her hand around the handle of the wooden mallet she carried around. She couldn't let this guy cause problems for Nami, not when she was so close.

Ichigo sighed as he heard Nojiko's rushed footsteps, he didn't realise turning to face her was a mistake until the mallet she had with her struck him right in the face sending him to the ground with a thud. Nojiko was wide eyed as she stared down at the bruise she had just inflicted on the unknown man's face. She had just been intending to hit him in the back of the head, not right in the face. Placing a hand on her face she let out a groan, what was she supposed to do with him now? Leave him here? The Fishman would eventually find him or he'd wake up and everything she had just done would be for nothing, he'd end up dead and if he didn't he'd end up finding Nami.

The last thing Ichigo heard before he passed out was Bell-mère's laughter as the ghost stumbled upon the scene while Nojiko hefted him up onto her back and began to take him somewhere. This family was starting to get on his nerves.

* * *

Tension left her body as Nami closed the door to her own private prison within Arlong Park. The greeting she had been given upon her return had no warmth, no good intentions. But in here, she could at least let that tension free, even if a little. This was a prison after all, even if she had free reign of Arlong Park she was still a prisoner, the tattoo on her arm didn't make her one of them. Just by being here made her wish for the smiling faces of the latest crew she had been with. The idiocy of their antics, how carefree they all were. How she had felt apart of them, unlike the Arlong Pirates. Instead, she was here chained by invisible shackles instead of on the ocean probably berating her crew for doing something stupid.

Yeah… her crew.

Looking over the room, filled with hundreds of charts, all stacked upon one another. Countless years worth of charts that Arlong had demanded she draw. It had almost broke her wish to map the entire world but she would be damned if she'd let Arlong take that from her too. Sighing lightly she rose the object she had recently come into possession of. It had been her only chance to do so, he had been distracted, if only for a moment. More focused on her than on what was in his pockets. The wooden badge he always had with him, the weapon she didn't understand. Taken with all the expertise she had gained through years of experience. Of course by now there was no way he didn't know she had taken it and with what she knew of Ichigo, he was already aware she had taken it.

Would he come to get it back? Was that why she had taken it in their last moments together, a chance just to see a single member of the crew she had so much fun being with? It was foolish, selfish and beyond reckless. But if he did come, saw her state… would he attempt to break her chains? Would Luffy and the others come just as Ichigo would to retrieve what was stolen from him?

"No… they're just pirates, they don't care about me." She muttered out, wiping at her eyes as she focused on the badge in front of her. There had to be a way to get the blade out right? She hadn't asked Ichigo about it, not wanting to alert him of her interest in the weapon. Taking in it's appearance, it looked like a roughly crafted badge, the strange black design on it didn't hit any memory of a mark on what it might be. "_Maybe Ichigo was a part of another crew before he fell out of the sky?"_ She hummed inspecting the badge to see if there was some kind of mechanism for the blade to come out. But as she continued to search the badge, there was nothing. No sign of a switch, no sign of a place the blade would even come out of. Nothing. In her hands it was just a piece of wood… while in Ichigo's hand was a weapon. "Useless." She growled, gripping the badge and ready to throw it out the window, however she stopped and looked at it once more. Her thumb running over the markings.

"_If I can't use it, I might as well give it back to the idiot."_ She sighed placing the badge in her back pocket.

* * *

Groggily opening his eyes, he felt the bandage on his cheek he rose his hand up to it, wincing slightly at the touch, the hammer didn't seem to have cracked his cheek bone so that was a plus. Didn't seem Nojiko had put that much strength into it, didn't stop it from hurting like hell though or knocking him out. Sitting up he found himself in a small open home, no one was present but by the looks of it, and the photo by the bedside table, it was Nojiko's and Nami's family home. Swinging his legs out of bed, seeing his shoes by his feet he slid them on. Before he stood up, the door of the house opened and Nojiko walked in with what he presumed to be tangerines, Bell-mère having mentioned the tangerine orchid in her story.

"You're awake." Nojiko simply stated as she walked into the room.

"No thanks to you." Ichigo mumbled in reply. "The hell did you think it was okay to hit someone in the face with a hammer for?" He growled at her. Nojiko placed the basket of tangerines down on the table before plucking one from the basket and tossing it to him, ignoring his outburst.

"I can't have you just rushing into Arlong Park like an idiot." Nojiko growled. "Now eat up." Ichigo glanced down at the orange fruit in his hand that he had effortlessly caught and began to peel it, feeling a pang of hunger. "The doctor said you'll be fine, you're just thick headed." She told him making his eyebrow twitch. "Once you've had something to eat, you can just leave." Ichigo placed a piece of the fruit into his mouth as he looked up at her. "Don't even think about going to Arlong Park, or you're dead."

"Funny, Nami said something similar." Ichigo shrugged. "Not dead yet."

"Stupid outsider." Nojiko huffed out. "I'm sure whatever it is Nami took from you, isn't worth your life."

"You'd be surprised." Ichigo frowned slightly. "Look, I don't need anyone looking out for me. I intend to go and get what's mine, I don't care who's in my way. I will get it back." Nojiko glanced over to him to see him staring back at her, an unshakeable resolve in his eyes, the intensity surprised her. "Then I'm going to have a chat to Nami about the subject of stealing."

"Yeah, good luck with that, Nami's been a thief long before she ever joined up with Arlong's crew, it's in her blood." Nojiko explained a grin on her face at past memories of her childhood before the nightmare started. "Plus, you'd be dead before you even got the chance to ask for what she stole back, the Fishmen don't take kindly to outsiders."

"Yeah well, I don't care if it's human or not, nothing's stopping me from getting what's mine." Ichigo reminded as he stood up, finishing off the tangerine. "I'm sure you want me to stop because Nami's getting close to the price Arlong posed for her right?" Nojiko's eyes widened.

"H-How'd you know about that?" Nojiko questioned in disbelief, there was no way Nami would have told anyone about that.

"That doesn't matter." Ichigo stated. "The fact is, I don't care about that. Just like you don't care about what Nami stole from me, so I'm going to get my badge back, kick anyone's ass that gets in my way and head back to the Merry and wait for the rest of my crew." Ichigo continued as he headed for the door.

"You're not even armed; you can't attempt to fight the Fishman like you are now!" Nojiko shouted only for Ichigo to close the door behind him.

With a frown Ichigo shook his head, while he could understand Nojiko's plea to leave the island, to not want to have someone's death on her hands. He couldn't oblige. The badge was too important to him, the only thing he had left apart from the clothes on his back of where he came from, of who he was. Not to mention, without the badge he wouldn't be able to use the full extent of his Fullbring leaving him at a severe disadvantage. While he hadn't come across anyone that he couldn't handle with his fists he didn't want to risk it. There was no way he was leaving this island without that badge.

Not only was he going to get his badge back, he was going to see these Fishmen for himself and to see if he could help Nami at all, everything about these Fishmen left a bad taste in his mouth, he wouldn't be who he was if he just left things the way they were. Plus he owed her that much at least, she had pulled him out of the water when he first arrived, taught him numerous things since joining up with the band of misfits not to mention kept him sane through it all so far. Feeling the all too familiar presence of a ghost he looked over to see Bell-mère leaning against the side of her home, looking out over the orchid.

"You think you can do it?" Bell-mère questioned with a glance at Ichigo, a scowl on his face. "Fishmen aren't just a stepping stone, they're ten times stronger than a human. Arlong… he's even stronger. One wrong move and you're dead. You're just a kid, do you really think you're capable of storming Arlong Park and defeat Arlong among his other cronies all on your own."

"What's it matter what I think about it or not." Ichigo stated. "Whether I think I can do it or not, it's not going to change what I'm going to do. I'm going to get back what's mine." Ichigo told her, Bell-mère smirking slightly as she shook her head.

"That's pretty selfish of you."

"Haven't you heard?" Ichigo questioned. "I'm a pirate." Bell-mère shook her head as she pushed off the wall, about to speak up before someone came running up through the orchid. From what Ichigo could see it was clearly a doctor of some kind, he didn't bother with speaking with Ichigo running straight into the house calling after Nojiko. Not even a minute later Nojiko dashed out of the house, swearing under her breath as she disappeared down the road. The doctor came out a few minutes later, wiping his brow of the sweat that had accumulated in his short sprint to the house. Seeing Ichigo standing on his own, the doctor approached.

"I see you're on your feet again." The man spoke. "Any nausea, or dizziness."

"I'm fine, the swelling will go down with time, from the feel I don't have a concussion so I'll be fine." The doctor seemed a little surprised at Ichigo's own analyses of his condition before he nodded. "Where did Nojiko run off too?"

"Chabo headed to Gosa again, damn that boy." The man explained shaking his head. "He'll worry his poor mother to death at this rate. But I can't blame him, the Fishmen took his father away, it's only natural the way the boy is feeling." Ichigo frowned slightly at that. "Nojiko will set him straight, while blunt she means well." Ichigo nodded as he glanced at Bell-mère.

"I should get going, thanks for your help Doc." Ichigo bowed his head slightly.

"Be careful now." The doctor replied as Ichigo walked off down the track with Bell-mère.

"That was Dr. Nako, the islands resident doctor." Bell-mère told Ichigo, the two walked in silence for a while before she spoke up once more. "So you're really going to Arlong Park, just like that." She questioned a frown on her face.

"Just like that." Ichigo nodded.

"I'll take you there this time, so you don't get lost." Bell-mère told him with a teasing smile. "You just have to do one thing for me." Ichigo glanced at her from the corner of her eye. "Beat that son of a bitches face in for me." Ichigo simply smirked as the two walked to Arlong Park.


	9. Chapter 9

Nami hurried from her room and down the corridor that would lead to the stairs to the bottom of the fortress. She didn't know why, but just the thought of seeing Ichigo again was raising her spirits. Someone she had come to think of as a friend and mutual sufferer among Luffy's crew of misfits. When was the last time she could actually say that she saw someone as a friend? A true friend? While she didn't know everything there was about the orange haired teen she hadn't spent that much time with him or anyone aboard the Merry, she knew that there was something special about him. She didn't know what it was, but it was there.

As Nami headed down the numerous staircases towards the lower levels she could hear those of _her_ _crew_ celebrating. Making some big show of welcoming her back from her trip. They did this every time she returned, whether it was to just make the nightmare worse or in some sick way the Fishmen had actually come to think of her as one of their own crewmates she wasn't sure. She wasn't sure which was worse in that scenario. Making sure she had the badge she had lifted off of Ichigo in her pack pocket she headed out into the chaos of the ongoing Fishmen festivities. As soon as she showed her face, the Fishmen cheered and hurrared. Doing her best not to get caught up in anything she headed for the exit of Arlong Park.

"Nami! Come have a drink! It's your party after all! Shahahahaha!" Nami grit her teeth as she turned and put on that fake smile she had used so many times in her life.

"Sure, why not." She stated, walking over to the large Fishmen still seated in his so called 'throne', it's not like she could refuse. That would only lead to her being forced to stay. A chair was quickly made available and Nami could see Kuroobi and Chew eyeing her warily, they never trusted her and probably never would. Not that she cared that they did, she didn't trust a single one of the Fishmen in return.

"So tell us Nami, where did you go, who'd you steal from?" Arlong asked leaning forward in his chair. "Anyone we know? Shahahahaha!"

"Probably not." Nami shrugged as she took the offered beer from Hatchan, the only one Nami could actually tolerate, not that they were close but he was too stupid for her to actually be able to hold a grudge against him. "Just some small time pirates." She shrugged, her tolerance for alcohol could at least be said to be because of her position in this crew.

"Well you're back now, that's all that matters, right Brothers!" Arlong declared getting a massive uproar as Arlong grinned at her making her spine tremble with silent rage. How she hated his overbearing gloating looks. This continued on for a while, Nami being forced to sit and listen to the horrifying news of what they had done to Gosa Village. Having been away for so long, she didn't know of the fate of the once small town. She did her best to hide the pain, but Arlong only laughed harder and harder causing her to tremble in rage. How she hated him.

'Knock' 'Knock' 'Knock' 'Knock' 'Knock'

Nami blinked at the sudden sound filling Arlong Park, even the Fishmen looked around quieting down at the tapping coming from the otherside of the entrance of the park. Was someone seriously knocking on Arlong's door? Who had such a death wish and would be stupid enough to come… here.

"_Oh no."_ Nami's face whitened considerably, the weight of the badge in her back pocket feeling way to heavy as she realised just how much of a moron her fellow orange haired teen was. Arlong scowled as he glared at the door, however after a quick glance around he caught sight of Nami's face.

"Expecting someone Nami?" He growled, Nami once more felt powerless as she sat under his glare. How many times had he made her feel like she was nothing? She began to tremble, she couldn't watch Ichigo die, not now. She had pushed herself to deal with a lot over the years but the friends she had made in the previous days had started to break through.

'Knock' 'Knock''Knock'

Arlong's face grew viscous as he turned to two Fishmen.

"You know what to do." He growled making the two nod and head for the Gate of Arlong Park. Nami could do nothing but watch through the gathered Fishmen, Arlong keeping an eye on the navigator making sure she didn't miss a single thing that was about to happen.

"Who the hell are you!?" One of the Fishmen called out as he pulled open the gate of the park, Nami couldn't see but it had to be him, right? Nobody else on the island would dare come to Arlong Park.

"Man, they weren't kidding when they called you fish faced Monsters, huh?" Nami's gut dropped. There was no denying it now, his voice was clear as day. "You look like you just crawled off the set from Creature from the Black Lagoon."

"Huh?" It was clear both Fishmen were unsure what to make of the movie titled causing the teen before them to let out a sigh.

"I was calling you ugly."

* * *

Bell-mère was actually scared. Since becoming a ghost, she had felt a range of emotions but she didn't often feel scared. Not for herself at least, she was already dead. No she was scared for the scowling teen beside her. The Gates of Arlong Park stood right before him and he didn't even seem the least bit bothered by that simple fact. In saying that, he didn't know the true strength of Fishmen or their brutal nature. She may have told him of their actions over the years but a story is one thing, seeing it in person was another. But even so, he was going against a full force of being's he had never encountered… unarmed.

Instead, Ichigo just scowled at the structure before them, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Was he curious to know how to get in? She was curious how all this was going to play out herself. She just wished she herself could do something to help, but she was an intangible being. Other then rustling a few bushes, she couldn't do much. What happened to haunting people, making crap fly across rooms and that natural scaring nature of ghosts? Being a ghost sucked if there was no fun in it.

What frightened Bell-mère the most was the unknown. They hadn't spoken much since leaving her former home where she had done her best to raise Nojiko and Nami when she had been alive. Meaning she didn't have the faintest idea of what Ichigo's plan here was. Sure when alive, even when she was in the Marines she was reckless, probably more so than most but she always had some kind of plan. Did he have a plan? Standing here unarmored and in her eyes, while having a decent physique didn't look like he could take down a single fishmen let alone an entire crew.

"Bell-mère." Ichigo began snapping the woman from her thoughts as she focused on his face, gone was the scowl replace by a serious expression as he looked at her. "Where I come from, ghosts that hang around too long turn into monsters called Hollows."

"Hollows?" Bell-mère questioned getting a nod from Ichigo.

"A monster based on the desires they originally had when they were living, it didn't matter if they were good desires or not. Eventually they would change and seek to devour souls." Bell-mère's eyes widened in surprise. "Their unfilled desires turn them into Monsters. Bell-mère frowned slightly, knowing what he was getting at. "I don't know where it is you'll go, but I'd rather you try and pass on then turn into a Monster."

"I see." Bell-mère now understood why, when they had first met he had asked about the corrosion of the chain on her chest. He had been stunned when he had learnt that she had been dead for quite some time, so that must be why.

"If helping out here doesn't at least do something for ya, I'll do what I can to help you pass on."

"What, got some experience in that field or something?" She asked, Ichigo gaining a small smile that she almost missed.

"Or something." He walked the last few feet up to the gates of Arlong Park, the obvious sounds of a party or some kind of festivities going on behind it. "You might want to stand back, they might not be able to see or hit you, I can and I wouldn't want to do that."

"I'll just stand off here to the side then and let you do your thing then." Bell-mère smirked slightly. "Don't worry, if you die we'll keep each other company for a while longer and haunt these bastards." Ichigo shook his head in amusement as he turned back to the gate and rose his fist knocking on the gate loud enough to be heard over the commotion on the other side.

"_He's just knocking?"_ Bell-mère sweat dropped as she watched him knock, the other side of the gate quieting down as he repeated the process and knocked again. About to knock again however the gates swung wide open revealing to large beings that even Ichigo considering his tall height had to look up at. He blinked as he took in their features, they really were Fishmen, or fish creatures… fishy dudes?

"Man, they weren't kidding when they called you fish faced Monsters, huh?" Ichigo started hiding his smirk, the best way to piss someone off was by insulting their looks. "You look like you just crawled off the set from Creature from the Black Lagoon." He should have known that the movie reference wouldn't catch on, but he had gone with it anyway. Turns out they couldn't even understand the fact he was insulting them by their reaction.

"Huh?" It was clear both Fishmen were unsure what to make of the movie title causing the teen before them to let out a sigh.

"I was calling you ugly." That hit home.

They didn't hesitate after that, they both growled as the first one lunged forward both arms stretched out to grab at his neck. But with a bit of extra boos from his leg that surrounded in green luminescent light his foot connected straight up into the fishmen's chin causing the tongue that was hanging out of his mouth to be severed by the sharp rows of teeth the creature had.

Blood burst out of the Fishman's mouth as he collapsed to his knees before face planted the ground and the other one was stunned for a moment before Ichigo's hand covered his face and with the extra help of his bringer light ability he forced him backwards smashing his skull into the pavement causing it to crack around them.

All of this happened in the span of a few seconds, both Fishmen were on the ground long before any of the others could actually process what had happened. It wasn't until Ichigo was on his feet, walking forward further into the Park that Arlong rose from his seat, hatred in his eyes at what the teen had done to his comrades.

"Who are you!?" He growled, grabbing his chair and smashing it into a wall as he stalked forward, his height would have been intimidating to anyone else Ichigo assumed but he had fought worse looking monsters ten times his size. A sword fish that walked on two legs was nothing really in the larger scheme of things.

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo." Ichigo told him straight up looking directly into his eyes. "I came here to get something that belongs to me." Arlong narrowed his eyes at the teen before Ichigo turned his gaze from the Fishman to Nami who was on her feet, completely stunned that Ichigo had taken out two Fishmen.

"So, Nami stole something from you?" Arlong asked, eyeing the teen in front of him before turning to face Nami. "Well Nami, look's like you've been caught out! Shahahahaha!" Arlong laughed. "Now what could it be? Money? Jewels? I'm interested in why a human would walk into their own death?" He grinned savagely. "It must be valuable."

"Not really." Ichigo simply stated walking towards Nami who just stared at him, trembling slightly. "But, it's the only thing I have from where I came from." He told Nami directly, staring straight into Nami's eyes as he stood a few feet in front of her. She knew it was precious to him by his words alone, but he'd risk everything to come get it back. Nami slowly reached back into her pants pocket and pulled out the wooden badge, eyeing it's frame as she rubbed her thumb over its surface. At least if he had it, he'd have a chance to get out of here. He could make the blade come from it after all.

"It really was useless, huh." Nami said softly raising it up to offer it to him. "Sorry, Ichi-!" Her words were cut off as Arlong appeared behind Ichigo, hatred and anger so clearly written on his face at the actions of the teen, his massive arm already in mid swing. The massive backswing sent Ichigo hurtling off his feet, under the balcony where Arlong's chair once rested and crashing into the fortress.

"Shahahahaha" The park was filled with not only Arlong's laughter but of the other Fishmen as well. Nami was trembling in shock, hand half raised out the badge still in her grip. Eyes wide in terror tears threatening to form. Her grip loosened on the badge and it fell from her grip, only to be snatched out of the air by Arlong and inspected the wooden object?

"Huh, such a thing holds no value." Arlong sneered. "He was his life for such a useless trinket? Pathetic, even for a human!" He growled before setting his gaze on the trembling Nami, a sickening smirk coming to his face at the expression on hers. Raising his hand he placed it on her head, grinning. "Don't worry Nami, you're safe now. Shahahahaha!"

Arlong's laughter filled arlong Park, even drifting into the ruined fortress. Ichigo grimaced slightly as he pushed a piece of rubble off of himself, sitting up as he dusted his hair off chunks of the building he had been smashed into coming from his orange hair. The teen unaware of the blue line's similar to veins disappearing from his body as the unknown ability he possessed deactivated.

Something was wrong here, he had felt the weight of that punch and the intention behind it. Sure he had used his bringer ability to defend himself against the blow having been fully expecting it but there should have been more damage right? A cracked rib, hell even bruising. But with a quick observation under his clothes he didn't see and discoloration of his skin, he barely felt the damn hit at all, let alone colliding with the building. Was his Fullbring ability that good at defending, or was it something else? Either way, he'd figure it out later.

Getting to his feet he could hear Arlong laughing outside, probably thinking that the blow had killed him. Had it been any normal person it might just as well have, or at the very least put them down for a good while. Bell-mère hadn't been kidding when she said that Fishmen were tougher than humans. That was raw brute strength he had been hit with.

Looking around the destroyed room he had wound up in, a grin came to Ichigo's face. He might not have his badge right now but he knew how to handle a sword and since Arlong was so kind to throw him into what looked to be his armoury, why shouldn't he take one? Looking around at the extensive collection of weapons only one stood out to him.

Walking over to the wall it was situated on, he gripped the handle. It was large, bigger than even his former Shikai, without a doubt no normal human would be able to lift it normally, let alone use it effectively.

But a blade like this, with his prior experience as a Shinigami, he had gained strength which allowed him to easily lift a weapon of this size, while he didn't have the full strength he had as a Shinigami he had more than enough. Gripping the handle he let his bringer light flow over the blade, reaching out for the soul within the weapon and connecting it with his own. By no means could he manipulate the weapon like he did with his badge, but it would be easier to use.

Easily hefting the massive weapon onto his shoulder in a familiar fashion he smiled softly. He missed Zangetsu's weight, his Zanpakuto had been a perfectly balanced weapon while this was clearly not. Hearing movement coming through the wreckage that he had been thrown through he spotted three Fishmen that were clearly there to dig his body out of the rubble for whatever purpose. Reaffirming his resolve, his usual brown eyes glowing blue, he readied himself.

* * *

Arlong stood with folded arms as he waited for the three to return. They were taking an annoyingly long time. He shouldn't be to far buried in the rubble and even if he was alive after that hit, which was not probable, he wouldn't give them any trouble. Glancing down at Nami who was on her knees trembling, tears falling down her face. Arlong making sure she knew that nothing that happened would ever change her position. Hearing movement in the rubble Arlong smirked, he'd make a statement of this boy. Hang his body from the top of Arlong Park like a flag and make sure nobody ever thought to go against him again.

That thought soon stopped dead as one of the three Fishmen he sent in there stumbled from the rubble, bleeding profusely as if he had been attacked by some kind of wild animal. Cuts littered his body as he fell to the ground in a bloody mess. Arlong's eyes were wide as Ichigo made himself known as he stood in the hole he had been thrown through. Barely a scratch on him, the only effect of Arlong's attack showing in some scuff marks on his clothes.

"There was one other thing I came here to do." Ichigo stated hefting the blade on his shoulder, Kiribachi. The sight of the weapon in a human's hands drew Arlong's eyes into slits. Even the other fishmen who knew of Arlong's rage took a step back from him as Nami starred at Ichigo in shock, he was alive? "You see fish freak, when someone hurts my friends. I tend not to hold back."

"How dare you!" Arlong roared. "Get your filthy human hands off of that!" He charged forward, however was pulled back by Chew and Hatchan while Kuroobi jumped in front of Ichigo.

"Don't do it Arlong, you'll destroy the entire park!" Hatchan tried to calm his Captain as Arlong struggled in their grip, both Fishmen struggling to restrain him.

"Let me go! I'll rip him apart!" Arlong roared. "I'll rip his damn arms off and feed them to the sharks!" Ichigo scowled at Kuurobi who blocked his path but it didn't change anything. All of these Fishmen were responsible and therefore he needn't hold back against any of them. Sliding his feet into a familiar stance, he pulled the blade to his side.

"Like you could use a weapon of that mastery." Kuroobi sneered. "I'll bring you down with my Fishman Karate!" He shouted dashing forward, missing the intensity in Ichigo's eyes as his feet glowed green. Ichigo dashed forward at a speed Kuroobi wasn't expecting, the luminescent light flooded the ground at Ichigo's feet as he swung his sword. Kuroobi rose his arms just in time, his fins acting as a shield but against Ichigo it wasn't enough three of the protruding blades of the Kiribachi sunk into his fins and arms and with massive force Ichigo dug in his heels and crashed Kuroobi into a pillar before dragging the blades from the Fishmen's arm severing massive tears in the limbs leaving them completely useless.

Ichigo didn't have time to waste as another group of Fishmen were on top of him, dropped the top of the Kiribachi to the ground he used it to swing his body around, wide arcs of green spiritual light crashed into the approaching Fishmen blowing them away as Ichigo landed on his feet in one fell motion he used his momentum to drag Kiribachi around digging up the ground and slashing through the air. Arcs of blood splattered around him. This was when Arlong broke free from Chew and Hatchan, both who were stunned at the defeat of Kuroobi. Arlong charged the unsuspecting Ichigo and tackled him to the ground, his eyes filled with bestial rage, his maw open as he lunged forward diving straight for Ichigo's neck.

'Crack' 'crack' 'crack' 'crack'

Arlong's teeth shattered, not just surprising Arlong at the loss of his teeth, but also the teen underneath him as he felt a pulse of spiritual energy in his neck. Blue veins covering the area affected littered with broken shards of teeth that had tried to penetrate through it.

"What is that mark!?" Arlong roared, his teeth immediately growing back as he gripped Ichigo's entire face with his webbed palm only leaving a single eye visible to the enraged Fishman as he smashed Ichigo's head into the ground causing him to grimace at the pain. He needed to do something, pinned to the ground like this he couldn't use the Kiribachi effectively. Throwing a punch with his left hand it was easily caught and slammed to the ground once more again with his head.

"You're nothing but a pathetic human! You caught us off guard with your surprising strength and skill but you're nothing more than that! I'll crush your head, until there's nothing but paste left!" Ichigo glared, holding Arlong's animalistic gaze.

"_Do something!"_ Ichigo shouted at himself as his head was slammed into the ground again, already feeling blood leak from each impact. He clenched his eyes tight at the pain throbbing in his head. "_You're not going to die here! You've been through to much shit to get killed by a damn swordfish!" _His eyes heated in an enraged glare Arlong surprised as they flashed a black and gold colour.

Feeling a spiritual spark in his uncovered eye as he glared at Arlong. Before a familiar feeling burst forth from his eye crashing into Arlong in a blast of black and red spiritual energy sending Arlong into the air, crashing through the canopy and outward. Ichigo heard a splash as he most likely ended up in the water somewhere.

"A cero…" Ichigo grimaced, he had somehow released a Cero from his eye. His entire vision in his left eye was blurry after the release of the Cero but he didn't let that stop him as he got to his feet, his head was pounding but he had learnt long ago to block pain so that he could focus on a fight. "Nami! My badge! Now!" He ordered.

"A-Arlong has it!" Nami cried back, totally bewildered by what was happening. Ichigo grit his teeth as he saw the surrounding Fishmen ready themselves. Taking the only direction he could, Ichigo dashed for the edge of the water. "Ichigo don't!" He heard Nami cry before he broke through the waters surface. The instant he did, several other Fishmen did as well, all darting for him with speeds that far surpassed olympic swimmers, their bodies tuned for the water. This was their domain. His body was struck several times from all directions that he barely knew which way was up, and when he did come to the right direction and tried to make for it, something grabbed his leg and dragged him down.

He tried to kick but more Fishmen came and restrained him as they dragged him down, Ichigo feeling his ears pop as the depth began to grow and grow, the pressure of the ocean water starting to rise. His eyes stung due to the salt water and every now and then a Fishmen would take a cheap shot to his stomach forcing him to release all the air he had making his lungs burn with the need of oxygen.

Finally they reached the ocean floor, light barely there due to the distance to the surface. But what was waiting was Arlong, having calmed somewhat as he floated in the water arms crossed as he grinned savagely.

"Do it!" Chew and Hatchan immediately followed Arlongs orders, swimming around the ship graveyard that lay on the ocean floor and grabbed two massive chains connected to anchors and began to enricle Ichigo with them. Ichigo was doing his best to remain calm but with the lack of oxygen his body's natural instinct of panic was setting in. Arlong swam over to him, grinning.

"Can you feel it yet? Your lungs filling up with water?" He grinned. "You'll die and be left for fish food. All you humans think you're the top of the food chain, when you're the furthest thing from it." The chains tightened around Ichigo's body and Arlong planted his fist in Ichigo's gut to force the remaining air from him, bubbles spewing from his mouth as the Fishman left him there. "You'll never see the surface again, human." Arlong reached into his shirt and pulled out the wooden object and dropped it to the ocean floor. "Might as well die with the reason you came here." With that, Arlong turned and shot for the surface after the other Fishmen.

The moment they turned away Ichigo struggled in the chains, his mind frantic as he tried to bust out of them. His vision began to blur as black splotches clouded his mind and his body jolted due to lack of air as water began to fill his lungs. Finally his body succumbed to unconsciousness and he was back where he found himself so many times.

Wrapped in chains as he was in the real world but now not on the bottom of the ocean, instead in an all to familiar sideways city. Still underwater showing how bad his emotional state was as his body wrapped in chains. He may have gained some of his spiritual powers back after training for his Fullbring but he didn't have the freedom in his inner world as though he was a Shinigami.

Head resting against a window, unsure of what to do. He would just be in the same position if he were to force himself out of his inner world. No. He was sick and tired of giving up. There had to be a way. Groaning he sat up, the chains around him heavy to restrict his movements in his innerworld. They were a manifestation of his powerless nature. If he gave up now, he'd never be able to face Zangetsu again, or any of his friends.

He did his best to try and come up with a plan, his badge was only a few meters away resting on the ocean floor. If he could just get out of the chains he could get it, use his fullbring and deal with the Fishmen, and now that he knew he could do a Cero he wasn't not going to use it to his advantage. There was also that strange mark that had protected him from Arlong's teeth and presumably Arlong's first blow towards him. No that could come later he just needed to get his badge right now.

All he had was his bringer abilities, the manipulation of an object's souls. That's when it hit him, the first time he had seen Ginjo use the strange ability on his alcohol to drink it out of the cup via lifting it's soul.

Instantly, Ichigo's eyes opened to the real world, focusing on the water around him green light began to form on small particles of water. Before they enveloped towards him covering his nose and mouth. He coughed up water into the bubble, the water being expelled from his lungs by the sudden intake of oxygen. He was manipulating the miniscule levels of oxygen in the water to be breathable. In essence it was just like he was diving now. New oxygen flowed into the bubble while the recycled air was thrust out into the water.

Now that he wasn't fighting to survive, he could focus better. His mind was clearer and he wasn't overthinking everything. He calmed himself down and took in the heavy chains that were wrapped around him. Focusing in the souls of the chains it only took a slight nudge towards them to cause them to loosen and fall to the ocean floor leaving him free. He swam over to where his badge was and picked it up, smiling as he focused directly on the soul linked to the badge.

In a burst of spiritual power he was fully equipped in his Fullbring, sword in hand. Utilising his bringer light around his feet he shot straight for the surface, the bubble he had used to breath underwater diminished as he broke through the surface, a massive burst of water following him up from the surface, along with the shocked looks of the Fishmen that had dragged him to the bottom. Spotting Arlong looking up at him in rage, Ichigo used bringer light to shoot straight for him at incredible speed, now fully equipped with his Fullbring he knew his movements were faster than usual.

He appeared before Arlong in a crouch, Sword already brimming with Spiritual energy, a blue gathering of reiatsu forming on his blade as he glared up at Arlong. This would be it, he wasn't holding back.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo's blade carved upwards from the ground to the sky releasing the torrent of power built up. Arlong, having no natural defence against the reiatsu infused attack was helpless as it struck. The entire park shook at Ichigo's signature attack, the massive force of the power in that single strike, to Ichigo it was nothing compared to what he was once capable of wielding but it had everything he had behind it.

When the light died down, Arlong was a mess, the massive Fishman collapsed to his knees eyes lifeless a massive wound going from shoulder to hip, Ichigo watched on as the top half of Arlong's body slid down as his body had been bisected in two from the Getsuga. The moment Arlong was revealed to the rest of the park, Chaos erupted behind the Fullbringer and Ichigo didn't hesitate, turning on his heel sword slashing at his own hand, blood dripping down as black sparks of reiatsu formed in his palm.

"Gran Rey Cero!" The cero blast arched out in a wave completely incinerating several Fishmen, others who were lucky enough to survive back peddled, the power of the teen was unthinkable. It wasn't natural, it was dark and his eyes were hard with resolve. If they stayed, he'd kill them all. Ichigo didn't think to go after the ones that ran. What he had done terrified them enough that they gave up fighting. He wasn't merciless. He didn't come here to kill, he came here to make sure that the people of Conomi Island could rest easy. Hopefully that wouldn't come back.

"I-Ichigo." Nami was stunned as she stared at him, his armoured form was something to take in. It almost looked like bone over a bodysuit. He glanced her way, a serious expression on her face. She had just witnessed him do something she never thought possible. He turned and began to walk towards her, raising his sword up and sheathing it on his back. Standing before her she looked up at him, realising for the first time their height difference.

"Thank-" That's all she got out before Ichigo's hand came down and chopped her forehead causing her to cry out as she crouched down holding her head.

"Stop stealing crap!" He growled at her as his Fullbring dispersed into the badge once more. "Do you know how much of a pain in my ass you've been today!? Huh!?" He yelled. "Gah! I'm so telling Luffy you stole his ship when he gets here!" He huffed before Nami couldn't help it, she laughed.

She laughed like she was back on the Merry with everyone. It was just so ridiculous. Here he was berating her for having stolen when he just took down Arlong's crew. Ichigo hid his smile well as he watched her laugh. She smiled up at him with the biggest smile that he had seen from her to date.

"Thank you Ichigo, you have no idea what this means." She told him as she rose to her feet.

"_Yeah, I kinda do."_ He added mentally as he glanced over his shoulder at Bell-mère who was just smiling and gave him a small applause. Ichigo simply shook his head, which in hindsight was a bad idea after the head smashing Arlong had put him through. Feeling Dizzy he felt consciousness leave him before he collapsed hearing both Bell-mère and Nami calling out his name.

* * *

When Ichigo awoke, it was late. The sun was up but it was clear that it was setting and it would be coming on dark soon. The noise outside was what awoke him. The sound of the celebrations going on were expected. Sitting up in the bed he rose a hand to the bandage wrapped around his head and he sighed gently. He didn't enjoy killing, most of the time he had been fighting Hollows, his Zanpakuto might have killed them but it sent their Souls onto a better place. There were times where he had killed and the only time he had ever truly wanted to kill was when Tsukishima had changed the memories of his family and friends.

He knew what was coming should he head out those doors. He didn't want to be celebrated for what he had done to Arlong and his crew. Standing up, he found his shoes and he slipped them on. One glance out the window showed that Luffy and the rest of the crew had showed up and they were in on the festivities already, no doubt they had been told what had happened. Hell, Luffy had even gotten that blonde prince charming cook here somehow. He'd learn about that later though.

Slipping out the backdoor, he headed down a few paths following the familiar trail he had followed with a certain ghost up to an old grave. He wasn't surprised to find her there waiting for him. She smiled as he walked up to her, both now looking out the ocean.

"You never said you were some kind of badass." Bell-mère chuckled.

"Honestly, I've never considered myself one." Ichigo told her. "Plus, you never asked." He added as Bell-mère shook her head while Ichigo smiled. "How are you feeling?" He asked, the ghost raising a hand up to her chest.

"Yeah, I can tell something has changed, but there is still one thing I want to do before I go." She confessed.

"Yeah, I know." Ichigo smiled softly. They talked for a bit, mostly Bell-mère telling him stories of Nami and Nojiko when they were children. They were both waiting and as the sun set and the moon began to rise they came.

"Ichigo? You're up!?" Nami asked shocked as she stood with Nojiko who was just as surprised as her sister to find the orange haired teen on his feet. Ichigo gave one glance at Bell-mère who was smiling at her daughters.

"I won't be able to give you long." Ichigo confessed softly. "I've never done this before."

"As much time as you can." Bell-mère smiled softly getting a nod from Ichigo, Nami and Nojiko were both confused as to who Ichigo was talking to and was surprised when he approached them. He stopped in front of them eyeing the two.

"Someone wants to say a proper goodbye." Both were surprised when Ichigo passed between the two and pressed his hands into the centre of their backs. They both felt a jolt through their systems as Ichigo pushed his reiatsu into them and turned to face Ichigo however he was already walking away.

"You've both grown up." Bell-mère's voice brought their heads swinging forward at the familiar voice causing their eyes to widen at the sight of her. Tears welled in both of their eyes as Ichigo glanced back at the ghost who smiled softly, a quick nod from the teen and he continued to walk away from them, leaving them to their last true goodbye.


	10. Chapter 10

"Usopp!" Nami called up to the long nosed teen who was standing on a tower of tables that had been erected as some kind of wobbly stage, singing and shouting as he swung around a mug of beer and with the red hie across his features it was clear the booze was taking effect. She was really going to have to help these guys handle their liquor better if they were truly going to be pirates. She couldn't blame him though, this was probably the first time he got drunk.

"Nami! I can barely see you all the way down there!" Usopp cheered, making an over exaggerated gesture of peering down at her. "Sing with me Nami!" Nami closed one eye as the so called singing echoed above causing others around to start singing too. They were way off tune and all things musical but she was so happy that the people of Cocoyasi could still feel like this after everything. With Arlong gone, Cocoyasi and the rest of the Conomi Islands were free.

"I'm looking for Ichigo! Have you seen him?" She called up to the teen causing him to stop and think for a moment.

"Ichigo's awake?" Nami sighed, she should have figured as much.

"Never mind Usopp." Nami turned with a wave for him to go back to what he was doing and looked over the mass feast that was currently on going as Usopp began the revelry again, her eyes searching for the slightest tint of orange hair amidst the crowds. Nojiko didn't look like she was having any luck either, seeing her sister amidst the crowd asking about the teens whereabouts. It seemed like Ichigo hadn't told anyone he was awake.

In truth, Nami was still wrapping her head around what had just happened in the past hour. Had she really just seen Bell-mère's ghost? It looked just like how she remembered her, unfortunately the injuries she sustained were only bad memories for both Nojiko and herself but despite them, Bell-mère smiled and went to embrace the two. Before she had slipped right through them, but for a split second she felt like she had felt her warmth and in truth that was more than enough of a gift.

She had told them that Ichigo somehow had the power to see spirits, to see the dead communicate with them as if it were normal. And for a short time he had allowed them to see Bell-mère one last time, not that she was sure how any of this was possible. Nami didn't even think he did it for her and her sister, but for Bell-mère herself. Because once she had said what was needed to, she looked at peace and had vanished. There was so much that she didn't understand about Ichigo and this only added to the pile.

In truth, the time she spent in those few lasting moments would never feel like enough, but she would never think any less of what she had gotten. She got to do something she had never been able to do, a proper goodbye with the women who had raised her. Bell-mère had told them of how proud she was, despite both herself and Nojiko tearing up like weeping children Bell-mère had said she had been there through it all, watching them grow into the beautiful women that they were today.

She had thanked Nojiko, for never turning against Nami for what happened in the past, for always being there when everything was just too much for her to bare on her own.

That Nami should never feel regret at what she had done over the years and should always still chase her dream of mapping the entire world.

Nami had wanted to tell her so much about what she had done, what she had seen. That not all of it had been bad. But there wasn't enough time and Bell-mère knew that. Nojiko was stunned by the fact after she was gone, even Nami was completely stunned. The fact of that matter was that they had just been able to say a proper goodbye to Bell-mère, something Arlong had stripped them of so long ago and it was all thanks to Ichigo. But he was nowhere to be found.

Nami looked around once more, Luffy was stuffing his face with everything he could reach. Sanji had been cooking almost non stop since the party had started and Zoro was drinking was being cursed out by Doctor Nako, Nami hadn't heard the full story of what happened back at the Baratie but she had seen Zoro's wounds and new that there would be a story behind it. She was sure Zoro wasn't fully trusting of her, now that he had learned that she had basically swindled them. But there was a little hope that Luffy would still accept her onto the crew. She couldn't map the world from Cocoyashi village afterall.

_"Where is he?"_ Honestly, she had no idea what she would say to him when she found him. How was she supposed to confront him on what he had done? His abilities were unlike anything she had ever seen. Arlong had laughed when he had come out of the water, explaining in detail how they had chained him down with anchors on the ocean floor. In that moment, she had wished she had never helped Zoro drag his body out of the ocean when they first encountered him at the very least he would have been spared such a death, yet only minutes later he had burst forth in a swell of power the likes she had never seen before and ended the nightmare that had plagued her since childhood. She couldn't even begin to understand the power he had unleashed upon the Fishmen. It couldn't be a Devil Fruit, Nami had seen how Luffy got around water so there was no possible way it was the same. But his powers seemed, otherworldly. Not to mention the fact he could see and converse with the dead.

Turning away from the party Nami headed away from the celebrations, the only place she hadn't looked yet. Soon enough her walking had turned into a run as she headed down the familiar path that led to Arlong Park, in truth she could have gone the rest of her life not coming back to this place. Soon enough, she was standing outside the gates and for a split second she thought it might have all been a dream but pushed on through, walking through the gates.

There he was. Kneeling amidst the ruins of the remains of Arlong Park he was knelt down before the water. Nami's eyes widened at what he had erected before him. It was a small shrine, a few incense standing and were burning. He was honouring those that had fallen at his hands. Maybe it was hard for him to take a life?

"Sorry I couldn't give you more time with Bell-mère." Ichigo spoke softly causing Nami to stiffen slightly, she hadn't made a sound that she was aware of and despite his eyes being closed he had somehow sensed her.

"Did a ghost tell you I was here?" She asked, almost nervously looking around only emitting a small smirk from her fellow orange haired teen.

"No." Ichigo shook his head as he opened his eyes, eyeing the small shrine he had erected before raising up. "Everyone has a unique signature to them." He told her. "You've been looking for me?"

"Y-Yeah." She nodded awkwardly, casting a glance down at the small shrine. Ichigo noticed the slight disdain for it in her eyes.

"Sorry." He apologised to her. "But I was brought up to respect the dead, even those fallen by my own hand." He continued. "No doubt they were the worst scum…"

"No, I get it." She told him, walking past him and looking down at the grave, she almost hesitated before kneeling and lighting another incense and sticking it in the sand bowl. She closed her eyes for a few moments, trying to recreate the way she had seen Ichigo do so before she raised up to her feet. "It's over now, I may not ever be able to forgive them for what they've done." She told him honestly. "Hating the dead isn't going to help me, I need to move forward."

"Looks like we're in the same boat on that one." Ichigo replied, heading for the entrance to Arlong Park, confusing the young navigator at his words. What did he mean by that? Hurrying to catch up to him, she didn't dare risk a glance back, thinking if she did the current reality of it all would just shatter to reveal the nightmare.

Nami risked a glance up at Ichigo as they walked, it seemed to her that he was too lost in thought to take much notice if she was looking at him or not. It was weird, until now she hadn't really taken a good look at her fellow orange haired teen. Usually he had a scowl plastered on his face and his emotions weren't easy to read. There was so much mystery around him that it was beginning to nag at her.

She had to give it to him though, he pulled off the whole 'brooding bad boy look'. She recoiled slightly at her train of thought, why was she thinking this now? Sure, the guy was attractive, she had even see Kaya give him a glance or two before they had left Syrup Village, although she suspected Kaya to harbour feelings for the resident sniper of the crew, no harm in looking, right?

_"I'm not as shallow as to think he's suddenly attractive because he saved us."_ She thought to herself, she had never once considered herself some helpless damsel needing saving, sure maybe a fleeting moment of hope had passed her by when Ichigo had stormed Arlong Park, but she wasn't coming down with some kind of rescuer romance. _"Why the hell do I have to defend my own thought process!"_

Sighing gently to herself she glanced at him again, smiling lightly as she couldn't help but slip a hand into his pocket, with the utmost ease she pulled out the badge he had come storming into Arlong Park to retrieve.

"You never told us you could talk to ghosts." Nami began tucking the badge back into her own pocket, she had a plan for this Her words snapped Ichigo from his thoughts, bringing his attention back to her. "Though, in truth we'd probably have never believed you." _"Well, Luffy might of."_ She added mentally.

"Not a lot of people would believe me if I did tell them." He agreed. "Hell, Bell-mère could barely believe it when I started to speak to her." He chuckled causing Nami to smile before the chuckle faded and he glanced at her and she smiled, making a small cross over her chest.

"Cross my heart, won't tell a soul." She promised and he nodded, sighing gently in relief. "Nojiko won't either, and even if we did tell, who would believe us?" She asked with a smile.

"I see Luffy made it here, it seems to be quite the party back in Cocoyasi." Ichigo began to turn the tide of the conversation, Nami nodding recalling when Zoro, Usopp and Johnny had all arrived after Ichigo's defeat of Arlong and his crew. They had all been shocked to hear he had defeated them all on his own. Zoro was distrustful of her, not that she could blame him, and didn't leave Ichigo's side until Luffy arrived. Not that Dr Nako would have let him anyway with his injuries. Johnny and Usopp had gone to investigate Arlong Park with Nojiko and some of the others to see what they could make of Nami's story.

It was hard to deny the proof of what Ichigo had done with dozens of dead Fishmen and a bisected Arlong laying in what now was the remains of Arlong Park. With the Fishmen Scattered, Arlong dead, news soon went all around the island and the party in Cocoyasi Village started soon afterwards with no slowing down in sight.

Luffy, Sanji and Yosaku arrived as the festivities were starting, the obvious presence of Momoo, the giant sea cow was nerve wracking but apparently it had been frightened into submission thanks to Luffy and Sanji and had left as soon as it had the chance. She expected to be chewed out by Luffy for stealing the Merry, instead he just said that everything worked out in the end and proceeded to stuff his face with as much meat as his rubber powers permitted his body to stretch.

It was odd, the only thing Luffy seemed to be upset about was the fact that he as the Captain didn't get to defeat the big bad guy. Apparently he was going to have a long talk to Ichigo about how as Captain, he should get to fight the toughest guy. To Nami, that just seemed stupid, and considering Luffy's mental capabilites, it was probably the normalist thing for the straw hat wearing Captain. Either way, she'd let Ichigo deal with Luffy, he seemed to be able to do alright so far.

"Are you joining in the festivities?" Nami asked as she saw that they were approaching Cocoyasi, the singing and laughter could be heard even from so far away, it caused her heart to swell at such a sound. Glancing up at Ichigo she saw a frown on his face.

"Nah, maybe a bit later. I'm not feeling fully recovered yet." He told her.

"Well, when you're ready, come find me." She told him, getting a nod from the teen as she began to walk away from him.

"Nami." Ichigo called out before she could get to far away. "My badge." He told her making her smile.

"Come find me when you're feeling better, I'll give it to you then!" She laughed before quickly running off causing Ichigo to sigh as he ran a hand through his hair before wincing slightly as his eye throbbed in pain, no longer able to hold up the mask. Ever since he had woken up he had felt a dull throbbing in his eye which over time only got worse.

_"Is it because I fired a Cero from my eye? My arm is completely numb with several fractured bones from the recoil of the Gran Rey Cero."_ He grit his teeth as he slowly made it back to the doctors office where he had woken up. He hadn't expected the use of Cero's could do so much damage to his physical body, he should have reinforced himself with his reiatsu before firing. Right now he needed some rest before going on to deal with the festivities.


	11. Chapter 11

Brown eyes snapped open, he sat up with a groan. The hum of music still could be heard outside, the residents of Cocoyasi still partying deep into the night. He couldn't blame them to be honest, they were celebrating their freedom after so long. Even so, hearing the festivities made him want to curl up and go back to sleep. He still didn't feel like going out and partying, most people wouldn't see Ichigo as the partying type and they wouldn't be wrong.

From the looks of things, he had been asleep for maybe an hour, possibly two. Not very long. Even so, he was feeling better. Maybe he still had remnants of his regeneration from his hollow days, scary thought that. Considering his Fullbring was the very fabric of Hollow Powers, it shouldn't have been surprising. It might even come in handy if he was being honest. Still... did he want to rely on Hollow powers?

Reaching for his badge he stopped, realising Nami still had it. He didn't think she had taken it for malicious intentions, but it still irritated him to think that she could just steal it whenever she pleased. He was so going to ride her ass if she kept that up. Somebody had to knock some sense into her, considering Bell-mère was gone and sure as hell wasn't a decent role model to begin with.

Sighing he pulled the sheet off of himself and moved to sit in an all too familiar position on the bed, legs crossed and eyes closed as he concentrated before feeling the pull and when he opened his eyes, he was once more underwater in a sunken city. The same city he had been in once before when he had entered his inner world upon training in the Precipice World.

Currently the teen was on the side of a building under dense levels of water, chains still bound his form but he noticed now that they were more loose then even when he had come in here during his fight with Arlong. Something had changed, was it because of the use of two cero's or was it due to that other strange power that he had somehow used?

Even if the old man's guidance was vague and cryptic, he would have loved to just ask Zangetsu what it all meant. At least then he might get an ounce of sense out of what had happened when Arlong first struck him and then when Arlong's jaws broke when trying to bite into him. Was it some kind of Hierro? It hadn't felt Hollow like, he couldn't quite place what kind of power it was.

"I need to concentrate." Ichigo muttered as he felt the weight of the chains binding him. They were the restriction of his current abilities. With the chains binding him, he wouldn't be able to grow further. Ginjo had told him his Fullbring would lead him back to his Shinigami powers, he just never really went into detail on how that would come about. That's what he needed to focus on, finding the link between Fullbring and Shinigami.

Time passed and nothing changed, the chains remained constricting and he didn't feel any difference in his powers. Using Cero's in Fullbring could come in handy, but did that somehow disrupt how his powers were supposed to diverge into Shinigami powers? He really should have gotten a play by play from Ginjo on how all of this was supposed to work out but the guy had been vague on it all.

Retreating from his inner world he stretched his arms out as he glanced at the window, the silhouettes of people moving by as the soft drum of music drifted into the room.

"_Better face the music."_ He sighed gently to himself knowing he was going to have to face Luffy at one point or another. He was just hoping to push it off. The other world teen could already see that, him joining Luffy's crew… didn't seem like it would work out. It had so far but it was clear it wasn't meant to be. Luffy lived by his own code, and Ichigo in a way lived by his own and from what he knew of Luffy, they would clash in the future and Ichigo didn't want that to happen. It would be better for them to part ways here, on better terms rather than on bad terms further down the track.

Stepping off the bed he headed for the exit.

* * *

Nojiko had to raise an eyebrow as she sat across from Nami, the young thief had been busy for quite a while now holding onto some wooden badge as she attached some kind of belt to it. To Nojiko it was an odd sight, all this reverally going around and all she could focus on was that badge? She had said that she had found Ichigo and that he needed some more time to recover from his fight with the Fishmen. Nojiko still didn't know how to comprehend what she had witnessed earlier and wanted answers, all Nami had told her was that Ichigo hadn't told her anything either, only that he could see spirits or something along those lines.

Which was just mind boggling in of itself.

Nojiko had so many questions and little to no answers. How did Ichigo and Nami know each other to the point that Ichigo was willing to risk so much just to save them? He was a pirate right, so why go so far? How did that whole thing with Bell-mère work, was it some kind of dream? Hallucination? She had no idea. It seemed that most of her questions right now originated on the teen that had become a hero to Cocoyasi and the entire island seemingly overnight.

"So." Nojiko began getting a glance from her younger sister. "What are you going to do now?" She questioned before raising her mug up and downing half her drink. Nami's hands stopped what they were doing and she glanced out over the party that had been going on and didn't look like it would be stopping any time soon.

She could see Usopp atop his mountain of tables singing and dancing, the liar who had a heart of gold. Sanji was continuously cooking extravagant meals for the party goers, while not particularly close with the chef he seemed like a good enough guy, though perverted. Zoro was drinking with several others, the swordsman who was loyal to a fault. After everything that happened, she didn't think Zoro would truly trust her again.

Luffy was making the rounds, stacks of food in each hand and more than enough already in his swollen rubber gut but that didn't stop him from shoving more in when he got the chance. There was no doubt in her mind that he would welcome her back aboard the Going Merry with open arms regardless of what anyone else had to say on the matter.

A life full of adventure waited for her if she wanted to take it, sail to the Grandline and fulfill her childhood dream of drawing a map of the entire world. It wouldn't be the worst pirate crew in the world. In her time serving under Arlong, she had seen pirate crews of all kinds, and Luffy was certainly not your average pirate.

So what was holding her back? She wanted a life full of adventure, to fulfill the dream Bell-mère believed in. There was a simple answer to all of this that it unnerved her.

"_What's he going to do?"_

It all came back to their conversation after she found him at Arlong Park a few hours ago. From the way he spoke, it was almost as if he didn't intend to go on with Luffy aboard the Going Merry any further, like he was going to set out on his own and do his own thing. She had only known Ichigo for a few days, spotting him in the water before getting him on their small boat.

A lot had happened since then. Defeating Kuro and his gang, sailing together aboard the Going Merry, arriving at the Baratie and then everything that happened here with Arlong. It almost felt like a lifetime since they first met but in reality only a few short days. A bond had formed between everyone of the Going Merry and Ichigo regardless. Just to see him walk away from it all… did they mean that little to him?

"I thought it was a rather simple question." Nojiko joked snapping Nami from her thoughts.

"I don't know quite yet." Nami finally answered. "I guess I've got some things I've got to figure out for myself before I decide." Nojiko nodded as she leaned forward causing Nami to raise an eyebrow at her.

"So what's Ichigo's deal?" She questioned.

"His deal? Ask him yourself." Nami huffed, turning her attention back to the badge in her grip, continuing to fix the strap to it.

"Well I mean, I figured you'd at least have some kind of idea. He saved everyone for you didn't he?" Nami's hand stopped working as she looked up with a small frown.

"You got something wrong there." Nami told her. "He didn't do it for me, he did it for this." She explained showing her sister the badge. "I stole it from him when we got here, figured it would catch a pretty good price." She explained as Nojiko held out her hand for it, Nami handing it over as she watched her sister examine it. "It's really nothing more than a plank of wood, to us that is. To Ichigo, it's more than that." Nojiko's thumb rubbed over the surface of the wood before giving her sister a stare.

"You're supposed to be the smart one, Nami." Nojiko chuckled, handing the badge back. "He could have gotten this badge back any other way, and you think he went the hardest route, what? Just because?" Nojiko shook her head. "I think Bell-mère informed him of what was going on, he knew things you would never tell him." Nami frowned slightly before Nojiko leaned forward and flicked Nami in the forehead.

"Ow!" She hissed back at her sister.

"He didn't just do it for the badge Nami." She said with a smile. "Pretty sure the guy has a hero complex and just doesn't want to show it." She laughed, causing Nami to smirk. "The guy wouldn't have done everything he did for us, if you weren't his friend Nami." Nami smiled gently as she set back to her work on the final few stitches. "You still didn't tell me his deal." She added with a smirk as Nami shook her head in amusement.

"ICHIGO!" Both looked up at the shout to see that the partying had stopped, cheers were being shouted out as no doubt Ichigo was making his presence known. The crowds were gathered and Nami had to sigh as she already saw Luffy with a determined look on his face pushing through the crowd. He clearly wasn't happy and Ichigo was about to be on the other end of that.

"_This can't be good."_ Nami grabbed the now finished accessory to the badge and stood up from the table before rushing over to the large commotion taking place. Nojiko shrugged and followed after to see what was going to happen. When the two got closer they saw that a large circle surrounded Ichigo and Luffy, the Captain currently finishing off the last of his food that he had on hand as he licked his fingers clean as Ichigo stood across from him.

"Luffy." Ichigo began. "We need to talk."

"Damn right we do!" Luffy shouted. "I can forgive the stealing of the ship! But!" He would have gone on but Ichigo interrupted by raising his hand, wanting to clear his name.

"I didn't steal it, Nami did. I was asleep and not a participant in any way." Ichigo defended, smirking slightly as he saw Nami glare at him from where she was standing for being ratted out like that.

"Gah! That isn't what I'm getting at!" Luffy shouted. "I'm the Captain!" He declared.

"Uh huh." Ichigo nodded. "I don't doubt that." Ichigo told him. "What's your point?"

"I'm the Captain so I get to beat up the strongest guy! That's how all of this works! That's how my crew works!" Ichigo sighed to himself, this is why he was conflicted on going on with Luffy. Nami had breached the subject when they had spoken earlier and knowing Luffy it was all too true. He saw that since he was the Captain, he was the strongest member of the crew therefore he fought the strongest 'boss' to put it into simple terms.

But what would happen should a time come that Luffy wasn't strong enough? True, Ichigo didn't know the full extent of Luffy's capabilities but he knew from experience, there was always someone stronger. But should someone come along that Luffy can't defeat, what should he do? Just stand aside and do nothing?

While Usopp wasn't present, currently intoxicated to a greater degree somewhere singing to the high heavens, Sanji and Zoro were on Luffy's side of the circle and Ichigo believed that they were in agreement with Luffy's statement. The Captain made the laws of a crew, if they were Luffy's laws, then Ichigo's mind was already made up.

"So I should have just waited then?" Ichigo asked.

"That's right!" Luffy nodded, folding his arms. "I was on my way anyway to get you guys and the ship. It wouldn't have been that long." He added with a nod to himself.

Nami felt anger in her rise up at that, who knows what Arlong could have done in that time frame, Zoro, Usopp and Johnny got here first. Undoubtedly something would have happened and people would have gotten hurt. If it wasn't for Ichigo being aboard when she stole the Merry, who knows what could have happened.

"Luffy." Ichigo began the atmosphere which had been full of life and joy now cold and distant, Ichigo's voice even more so. Even Luffy despite his lack of intelligence could see that this was no joking matter. "I like you." He stated. "But I think going our separate ways would be for the best." He stated. "I won't be part of your crew anymore." Luffy seemed shocked by the sudden announcement as silence rang over the gathered members of Cocoyasi. "We don't know each other well. It's only been a few days since we met. While I appreciate the offer to join your crew, it wouldn't work out." He finished.

"I refuse!" Luffy shouted at him. "You're part of the crew! I'm not letting you leave!" Ichigo just smiled as he waved the notion away.

"I didn't even have an official job title and I don't think the pirate life is for me." He shrugged. "I won't be going with you when you leave." With that, Ichigo turned and walked back into the crowd leaving Luffy standing there a frown on his face.

"Luffy." Zoro began making the straw hat wearing teen glance back at him. "Let him go. He won't change his mind, no matter what you say." He concluded. Sanji simply pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag from it. That's when Luffy's gaze turned to Nami, or where Nami had been standing amidst it all. However the spot she had been standing was vacant.

* * *

Ichigo would have closed the door behind him, however Nami stood present making him raise an eyebrow in question. He hadn't expected her to come looking for him after all that. Walking into the room she followed after him as he sat on the bed only for Nami to toss his badge across the room which he caught. His eyes widening as a smile came to his face as he saw a small rope attached to it.

"You keep losing it so I figured you'd need something to keep it on you." She explained, taking a seat at the small table. The rope she had attached to it wasn't unlike the strap that the badge once had when Ukitake had handed it to him.

"Thanks." Ichigo nodded as he placed the badge back in his pocket. There was a tense air of silence that hung between them.

"You're really not going with Luffy then? When they leave?" Nami asked, breaking through the silence. Ichigo wasn't ignorant when Nami said 'they', not 'we'.

"It's for the best." Ichigo told her. "We'd just clash heads, Luffy's set in his ways and I'm set in mine, we'd just get into pointless arguments. The situation would only get worse as time went on and eventually we'd go our separate ways anyway." Ichigo shrugged. Silence once more drifted between them, Nami fidgeting slightly in her chair before Ichigo let out a sigh. "You should go with them."

"Huh?" Nami looked up at Ichigo with wide eyes as he stared back at her.

"Despite them being… them." Ichigo shook his head, trying to sum up Luffy's ragtag crew in a singular word was difficult. "They're good people, you'll see the world. Fulfill the dream you have. Who else is going to make a map of the world if you don't?" He asked with a smirk.

"So, she did tell you everything?" Nami spoke softly.

"Yeah." Ichigo nodded. "At least the important parts anyway." Ichigo added. "That ragtag group of pirate wannabes… you'll fit in fine."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nami growled at him as Ichigo chuckled, Nami smiling already knowing that she fit in perfectly fine with them, despite their abnormal tendencies. Sure it might take some time before the crew trusted her again but she would be able to prove herself more than enough by helping out. Who else was going to get Luffy's ass to the One Piece if not her? "You really think they'll just welcome me back?"

"Have you met Luffy?" Ichigo questioned causing Nami to laugh lightly and nod, he had a good point. "I don't think you'll have any problems with Usopp or the new guy, Zoro might take a while." Ichigo told her honestly.

But that still left one thing…

"What about you?" She questioned softly, Ichigo pausing for a moment fingers threading together as he looked down at them.

"I honestly have no idea what I'll do from here." Ichigo admitted. "I still have a lot to figure out for myself. Come to terms with everything." Nami frowned slightly at his words, even if she asked, she doubted he'd tell her about what he was talking about.

"Well then." She began as she rose up from her chair. "No doubt we'll see each other out there on the sea some day." She smiled before leaving, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

Ichigo watched on from behind the crowd of villagers. It was a big display of Nami robbing everyone blind before hauling ass off the dock and onto the Going Merry where she was welcomed by the rest of the crew. It was clear that Zoro would be keeping his eye on her, but someone had to keep Nami in line too. At Least Ichigo knew that she'd be taken care of on the Merry. No doubt, they were off to cause trouble somewhere. Even now the Merry was becoming smaller and smaller on the horizon.

Luffy still wasn't happy that Ichigo wasn't going with them, trying to talk 'sense' into him once he had gone to wish them a farewell. But Ichigo still believed that it was the right decision, he didn't particularly fit in with the crew either. No didn't doubt that he'd made friends for life with Luffy and he wouldn't soon forget Nami, but he didn't feel like that was where he belonged.

Reaching into his pocket, fishing out his substitute badge with it's new rope attachment, he saw that Nami had added a quick release trigger so he could easily pull it off and click it back on. Quickly attaching it to his pants he went to turn around only to stop and groan slightly at the sight before him.

Johnny and Yosaku. The two idiots that had decided to remain here on Conomio Island for a while until whatever came next for them. The two bounty hunters would no doubt go seeking another bounty sooner than later. Unfortunately, the last few days the two had been asking for Ichigo, the Slayer of Arlong, to train them or at least aid them in helping with their swordplay. Not something Ichigo was exactly thrilled about, but the two had been relentless in their begging.

"No." Ichigo simply stated before walking off, however the two hurried after him.

"Come on Big Bro! Please!?" Johnny begged.

"Yeah Big Bro!" Yosaku added.

"You're both older than me!" Ichigo snapped at them, it was almost as bad as dealing with Keigo. For whatever reason they had taken to calling him Big Bro like they had Zoro or similar to how they called Nami 'Big Sis', despite clearing being the older ones in the whole dynamic. Ichigo mentally blocked out their constant blabbering as he walked, his feet taking him towards Arlong Park.

The massive structure was still present, it was already stated that the whole park was going to be torn down and destroyed to erase the Fishmen's presence from the island entirely, but Ichigo wanted to look around to see if there might be anything of use before that actually happened.

While he had told Luffy that the life of a Pirate wasn't his style, it didn't mean he couldn't go out on the ocean, still feeling that unnatural pull he felt from it. He could make a living off bounty hunting, traveling the ocean as he saw fit. It's not like he had a place to call home exactly. Didn't mean he had to be a pirate. Maybe he'd meet Luffy and Nami out on the ocean like Nami had predicted. It wouldn't hurt to make sure they were doing okay out there from time to time.

Coming up to Arlong Park, Johnny and Yosaku became quiet. Despite the fact that the fishmen were longer present, the very place made the people that knew of Fishmen hesitate. Not bothering to wait for them, he headed through the gate and into the park's interior.

Ichigo hadn't really bothered to take much of a look around after his fight with the Fishmen, or when he had set up a shrine to those he had killed. But now that he did, he saw just how much damage his Gran Rey Cero had done. While not to the extent of Grimjow's destructive power, that he had been on the receiving end of in Las Noches, he now understood the backlash from the blast.

While the main structure of the building was untouched, apart from where he had been thrown into the building by Arlong's attack, his cero had mostly been focused on the courtyard. There was no longer a wall blocking the view from the ocean, and the pool that lay in the centre was severely opened on a larger scale, tiles from the ground now gouged away by the spiritual blast waves rolling in washing over the courtyard.

"_Did Ginjo know that Fullbring gave access to powerful Hollow abilities?" _Ichigo wondered, just how much of a hollow's powers could a Fullbring user use? Just where was the limit and just how present was a Hollow inside of a Fullbringer?

The image of his inner Hollow surfaced in his mind causing him to grit his teeth, before shaking the thoughts from his head, he didn't have the means to answer the questions and he doubted he'd ever see Ginjo again to ask him. No point worrying about it, he'd figure it out in time as he used his Fullbring and came to understand it more.

"Woah Big Bro, just how'd you do all this?" Yosaku questioned, staring in awe with Johnny. While both had seen the aftermath of the battle before, they still didn't know exactly what happened, Nami nor Ichigo had been forthcoming with the details of the battle. Blood still stained some of the area, but the bodies had been disposed of.

"Did you come to get something of Arlong's to prove the bounty?" Johnny questioned halting Ichigo, Arlong had a bounty on him? He shouldn't be surprised, but wasn't there a military presence or something here? Why hadn't the Marines done anything to stop Arlong's reign over the island? Something wasn't sitting right with the teen. Why was a pirate's presence, such as Arlong's, allowed to sustain itself for so long?

"How much was Arlong's bounty?" Ichigo inquired.

"Well…" Yosaku began fishing around inside of his green coat before pulling out a mass amount of papers that had seen better days. He began flicking through them before pulling one out. "Here it is, Arlong the Saw… bounty is, 20 million beri."

"But, considering Arlong's dead, the bounty office has a bit of an issue with dead bounties, they usually subtract at least thirty percent of the total bounty." Johnny added with a confirmation nod from Yosaku.

"That comes too…" Ichigo watched with an annoyed expression as the two tried to come up with the numbers by trying to count their fingers. How did these two conduct business if they couldn't work out simple percentages?

"Thirty percent of 20 million is 6 million, so the total would be 14 million." Ichigo sighed before Johnny and Yosaku glanced at one another, quickly linked arms and began dancing around in a circle.

"We're rich!" Ichigo groaned and turned away from the dancing trio, back to the ruins of the massive building that made up a large sum of Arlong Park. Walking through the wreckage, he heard Johnny and Yosaku telling him to wait up but he ignored them not wanting much to do with them. Once more he found himself in the armory, weapons of all kinds lining the walls.

"Hey Yosaku, look at this!"

"So cool!"

"Gah it's heavy!" Ichigo glanced back to see Johnny lifting the same weapon he had used to defeat the Fishmen that had told him something about Fishmen karate, apparently it was an important weapon to Arlong to send him into a rage just seeing it in the hands of a human. The black haired man hefted it onto his shoulder not unlike Ichigo would do with Ichigo, however Johnny was clearly struggling underneath it's weight.

"C-Cool, huh?" Johnny asked as he looked to Ichigo. Ignoring them once more, Ichigo looked around seeing several katana's on the walls, among other things he searched around a bit more pushing past a set of doors intent on searching through the entire building.

After a while he returned to the courtyard, seeing Johnny doing his best to handle the weapon he had picked up, despite it throwing him around as he tried to swing it he seemed to be handling it better than he had when he first picked it up, getting used to its weight no doubt. Ichigo was surprised he hadn't hurt himself but he had to have some skill as a swordsman as he hadn't done so. Yosaku seemed to have raided the armory, looking for something for himself now that his partner was outfitted with a new weapon. It seemed like he had drawn it down to two options, a large morning star and a trident.

While there were numerous treasures hidden within the walls of the tower, he didn't take any, not seeing the point to do so. The residents of Conomi island would benefit more form what was inside then he would and if he did claim Arlong's bounty then he wouldn't be in need of money any time soon, or at least he didn't think so.

"Hmm… This one." Ichigo figured Yosaku would have picked a sword, however it seemed like he wanted to change it up a bit as he ended up picking the three pronged trident, giving a few jabs with it before grinning.

"Are you both having fun?" Ichigo questioned making them turn to him with grins on their faces.

"You guys!" Nojiko's voice came from the gate causing the three to turn to see her slightly out of breath. "It's the Marines! They're here!" Ichigo scoffed slightly to himself, a little late weren't they? Only arriving no doubt after the news of Arlong was defeated.

"Alright! Let's go collect our bounty Ichigo!" Yosaku laughed as both he and Johnny, with their newly acquired weapons headed for Nojiko, the woman glancing at both with their new arms and raising an eyebrow as they passed her.

"Couldn't take her eyes off of us." Johnny grinned.

"These weapons are going to make us hits with the ladies." Yosaku laughed alongside him.

Ichigo shook his head at the comment, not to mention the suggestion of 'our' bounty. When was it decided that they were getting a cut? About to head after them he stopped, something felt off and he glanced around Arlong park. He had felt like something had been watching him… His eyes narrowed slightly, there was definitely another presence here other than himself and the other three. It was strange, to actually pick up on another's signature here he had to focus on them specifically, perhaps because the signatures were so weak?

Walking to the water's edge he peered into the depths. A Fishman? Had one come back? He couldn't see very far into the water, he himself knew how deep it was having been dragged down to the ocean's floor.

"_Why isn't it attacking? Afraid maybe? Something's not right." _As he thought that he felt the signature move before dashing out into the ocean, leaving Arlong Park behind. "_It's… gone…?"_

"Everything okay?" Nojiko questioned walking up behind the orange haired teen.

"Ah yeah." Ichigo nodded, turning to face her. "What do the Marine's want?" Nojiko shook her head, unsure herself what the Marines were doing here.

"No idea, Genzo spotted the ships and I came to let you guys know. If you're going to claim Arlong's bounty, they're the best ones to speak to about it." Ichigo nodded in agreement as the two left Arlong park together, heading back to Cocoyasi Village.

* * *

By the time Ichigo and Nojiko arrived in Cocoyasi, just after Johnny and Yosaku, it was clear that the Marines were making their way to the island. The ship was docked not far off, however unlike the Going Merry it was much larger and couldn't just dock on the island.

"The Marines could never get close to the island before now, Arlong and his men would just sink the ships that tried." Genzo spoke to Ichigo as they walked up to the dock where the Marines were headed, he had to wonder if that was the only reason why the Marines hadn't come. "No doubt word's gotten out now that Arlong has been defeated."

The blue and white uniforms of the Marines came into view as they rowed their boats towards the island. Nojiko and Genzo stood on the dock waiting to welcome them as Ichigo, Johnny and Yosaku stood a little ways back, the two bounty hunters beside him getting accustomed to their new weaponry. Ichigo watched on, taking a backseat figuring he could let Genzo and Nojiko deal with it, once their stuff was settled he, or not doubt Johnny and Yosaku would bring up Arlong's bounty. With any luck, there wouldn't be any problems.

He made sure that Johnny and Yosaku didn't rush off to tell the Marine's that they were the ones to defeat Arlong, no doubt that would cause all kinds of trouble, instead waited with the two as the residents gathered around the Marines.

"Greetings residents of Cocoyasi Village." The Marine called out in greeting before deciding to introduce himself with a hand on his chest and a slight bow. "I am Commodore Pudding Pudding." Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the strange man's name and appearance, a rare choice in hair design that was for sure.

"No way, a Commodore? I figured they'd send a Captain." Yosaku whispered, getting a nod from Johnny in return. Ichigo didn't know too much about military ranks both here and back in Japan, but a Commodore was pretty high up the scale weren't they?

"We've heard that Arlong has been defeated and that Fishmen no longer inhabit the island, you have my sincerest apologies that we could not do something sooner for the people of the Conomi Islands." He apologised to them which actually felt sincere from the man. "We're here to assist in any way that we can."

"We understand and are grateful for the help." Genzo spoke as he walked up to the Commodore, his past scars still present making the Marine frown. "The nightmare is over now." Genzo continued.

"You have my word that a full investigation will be held and the destruction of Arlong Park will commence immediately." At his words a small platoon of Marines acted at his orders and headed into the island, no doubt to do just that. "It is unfortunate, however everything we find in Arlong park will need to be confiscated as it will be treated as stolen property and handed to the Government."

Ichigo's attention perked up at that, they were seriously taking all the treasure in the park? That could really help out the island rebuilding, helping them get back on their feet. Moving through the crowd, Johnny and Yosaku following after him. He went to pass Nojiko, gaining the Commodore's attention but she quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him to a stop.

"Don't." She whispered to him. "We don't need it, Nami's savings are still safe, there is more than enough." She continued with a hushed tone causing Ichigo to hesitate, she was right. There was almost a 100 million beri buried up on the tangerine farm. Deciding to let it go, to follow Nojiko's advice the teen nodded.

"Who do we have here?" Pudding Pudding inquired intrigued by the young man before him.

"The Bounty Hunter who took down Arlong." Genzo quickly explained. "Kurosaki Ichigo." Surprise was evident on the Commodore's face as he took another look at the teen before him.

"Do you have some kind of evidence?" Commodore Pudding questioned while Ichigo locked eyes with the man before throwing his hand to the side.

"Johnny." Ichigo simply stated causing the black haired man to pause for a moment, curious to know what Ichigo was getting at before he blinked coming to the realisation before passing him Kiribachi, despite groaning at the effort it took to do so. Ichigo easily hefted the weapon up, holding it out to the Commodore without the slightest bit of strain. "Far as I know, this was Arlong's prized possession. He seemed kind of enraged when I picked it up."

"Hmm." Pudding hummed as he inspected the blade. "It was said that Arlong in his younger days on the Grand Line used such a weapon." He nodded. "While I don't condone the work you bounty hunters do, I must say that you've done a good job dealing with one of the scums of the East Blue. You have my thanks." He told him. "Once Arlong's body has been found and his death confirmed, I'll issue the bounty. Due to regulations, the twenty million will be cut by thirty percent."

"Got it." Ichigo nodded as he turned to Nojiko who nodded with a smile. "There's a small tangerine farm just up the road, I'll be there." Ichigo finished as he handed Kiribachi back to Johnny and walked away, Johnny once more struggled to get a handle on it before he and Yosaku rushed after him.

"I'll go get them settled." Nojiko told Genzo who nodded before she too followed after the three. Genzo himself going with the Marine's to confirm Arlongs death.

The four walked up the road that led to Nojiko's house, the Tangerine trees already in view ahead. Johnny and Yosaku had already asked Nojiko if there was a spot where they could practice with their new weapons and she had told them that there was, just to be careful. Maybe it was because she was Nami's big sister but the two listened to it as if it was an order from Nami herself.

"_Maybe I should have warned them about a Fishman lurking about?"_ Ichigo mused to himself as he walked beside Nojiko. "_Surely that many Marines can take out a single one if it shows up?"_

"It's got to be here somewhere! Spread out and find it!" A voice came from deep within the grove of the tangerine orchard causing Ichigo and Nojiko to pause. A quick glance at the anger growing on Nojiko's face told Ichigo she wasn't expecting visitors. However before she could rush off to confront them, Ichigo's hand landed on her shoulder.

"Stay with them." Ichigo surprised her as he turned to Johnny and Yosaku. "Look after her."

"With our lives Big Bro!" Both saluted before Ichigo disappeared from sight, the whisks of green light where his feet had been. Ichigo appeared in the orchard, behind some trees already removing the badge from his belt as he spotted several Marine's with shovels, some already digging up the earth searching for what was clearly Nami's treasure. What surprised him the most though was that not one of the Marines he saw were the same as those that had come ashore with the Commodore.

"If what Arlong said, it should be buried somewhere among the tangerine trees, just why is it so hard to find!?" A man cursed causing Ichigo to narrow his eyes.

"Captain Nezumi! We found something!" One of the Marines called out.

"Finally!" The Captain growled as he marched through the Marines to where they had been digging to find a large case covered in dirt. "Well, bring it out of the mud already!" He ordered.

"Yes sir!" Four of the Marine's did just that, pulling the case from the ground and placing it to the side. Another Marine already presented a bar to open it.

"Hurry it up! Pudding is already here! We have to leave before we're spotted!" Nezumi growled as the Marine pried open the lid, Nazumi pushing him to the side and looking at the contents of the container. Gold, beri's, jewels of all kinds lined the inside of the container. Almost a 100 millions worth.

"I thought it was odd." Nezumi's head shot up, looking back and forth. "How Arlong got away with what he did for so long, of course he had help from a corrupt official."

"Who's there!?" Nezumi shouted as the Marine's around him raised their rifles aiming in all directions.

"Arlong's dead, so you'd thought you'd get what you could out of the deal you made with him."

"Sir!? What do we do!?" A Marine called out as Nezumi tried to locate the direction of the voice.

"Fire at will! If it moves, kill it!" Nezumi ordered and immediately the entire tangerine orchard lit up as gunfire rang out. Several moments of blasting into the tangerine trees silence soon settled in. Nezumi smirked as he dusted off his coat with one hand before casting it out. "Now hurry it up, the gunfire would have attracted attention. Get this all... back to the... ship...!" Nezumi's face paled as the arm he had thrown out with his order, now just a stump, his arm laying on the ground.

"GAHHHH!" The Captain cried out in pain, raising a hand up to the stump to stop the bleeding but the flow didn't stop. Ichigo stood in the centre of the circled Marines blade in hand blood dripping down the blade. He cast his gaze over their frightened faces before his eyes turned blue and he raised his reiatsu.

Immediately the surrounding Marine's knees began to buckle under the strain, his spiritual pressure not as dense as it once was but it was enough to force them to their knees. He forced them all to their knees, all of them dropping their weapons before he released it. What he was surprised by was the fact that they all fell unconscious afterwards.

"Probably never felt spirit pressure before." Ichigo mused as his sword turned back into the badge which he attached back to the clip on his pants.

"Big Bro!" Ichigo turned to find Nojiko burst through a line of tangerine trees, the woman obviously having come running after the gunfire was heard. Johnny and Yosaku burst through after her to the scene surrounding Ichigo.

"Wha? Marines!?" Nojiko was shocked just as well as angered.

"These ones aren't a part of the Commodore's crew." Ichigo explained, knowing that Nojiko was trying to connect the dots. "This one's a Captain." Ichigo stated as he nudged the rat faced man in the side with his shoe. "Turns out he was in league with Arlong somehow."

"Damn it!" Nojiko grit her teeth.

"Hey, it's all over now right? Big Bro took care of them. Nothing to worry about." Yosaku tried to cheer the blue haired woman up.

"Johnny, Yosaku. Tie them up, we'll hand them over to the Commodore when he comes to give the bounty." Ichigo told them getting a nod from the two as they went to work. Ichigo looked down at the large case that contained the millions of stolen treasure inside. "_This will be put to rebuilding up this island Nami, I assure you of that."_ He closed the lid on the container and slid it back into the hole, Nojiko helping to cover it with dirt. While the Marines were here, it was best to keep it secret.

"Big Bro!" Ichigo glanced at the two to see them having tied up all the Marines in a large circle, even going so far as to gag the Marines so that if they regained consciousness they wouldn't be able to talk.

"Come on." Nojiko told Ichigo. "I'll make us all some lunch while we wait for the Commodore and his men."

"Alright! I'm starving!" Yosaku cheered as the two bounty hunters once more linked arms and began to dance around in circles with one another. Ichigo simply shook his head as he followed Nojiko out of the tangerine orchard.


	12. Chapter 12

Nojiko watched in amusement at the teen who was more than slightly annoyed. They were still waiting for Commodore Pudding Pudding to arrive and after they had finished a meal that Nojiko had made for them, Johnny and Yosaku immediately wanted to get more acquainted with their new weapons. Nojiko herself didn't know much about weapons, ever since she was a kid Arlong had forbidden any weapons on the island. Genzo had done his best to arm them at times, but every effort had been thwarted at every turn by the Fishmen.

But as she watched the two bounty hunters attempt and fail to handle their new weapons without the slightest hint of grace, much to her amusement, it was clear that Ichigo was clearly irritated at how they were handling them. To the point that he got up and showed them proper stances. It was clear he had a better idea of how to help Johnny with the large sword Arlong himself was famous for, but he did his best to help Yosaku as much as he could.

"Wider." Ichigo growled at Johnny who shifted his feet into a wider stance, lowering his body slightly. "A weapon of that size is best used with a firm stance, trying dancing and flinging around with it will just result in whatever you were doing before." Ichigo sighed recalling Johnny trying to be clever and utilize some twists only to be thrown on his ass by the sheer size and weight of the weapon.

"Yes Big Bro!" Johnny shouted.

"Once you start to build some muscle, you should be able to handle it better, it'll take time and practice." Ichigo added getting a nod from Johnny as Ichigo gestured for him to try swinging it. Johnny did so, and while not a perfect swing, it wasn't out of control like his earlier ones. Ichigo figuring he had a good idea glanced over at Yosaku only to watch him smack the bottom of the trident into the side of his face, having been spinning it about, trying to be cool no doubt.

He didn't know why Yosaku had picked a trident of all things, but he seemed adamant of picking something new instead of a sword. He at least knew where the pointy end was, that was a start. Seeing Ichigo's gaze Yosaku sheepishly grinned before taking the stance and went to thrust it.

A trident was certainly different from a sword and Ichigo didn't really know the proper way to wield one. Ichigo hesitated a moment before walking to Yosaku.

"Pass it here a second." Ichigo instructed, causing the bounty hunter to nod and immediately handed over the trident. Ichigo looked it over, honestly it was nothing but a hunk of iron shaped in a unique way, if Yosaku truly wanted to use a trident as a weapon there was no doubt in Ichigo's mind that he'd have to get something crafted much better. It seemed not every weapon in Arlong's armory were great pieces.

Yosaku watched as Ichigo looked over the trident in his hands, he'd been helping Johnny get a handle on the massive weapon that was Kiribichi, but had yet to fully instruct himself on the way of the trident. He'd never seen Ichigo himself fight personally, so didn't know what the teen was capable of, despite the fact he took on Arlong's whole crew and won.

Yosaku was surprised when Ichigo took a deep breath, raised the trident up and closed his eyes, focusing. He didn't really know what the teen was up to but jumped slightly when a whisk of green light sparked from his hand, seemingly tracing along the side of the staff of the trident before seemingly sinking into it.

Ichigo noticed something when he had attached the soul of Kiribichi to his own during his fight with Arlong. He didn't truly understand it until this moment, but reading the soul gave an insight into the weapon. He figured if he could do that to this trident, he could at least understand the way the weapon was handled. Focusing on the connection between his soul and the weapons he began to feel it.

Opening his eyes he glanced down at the trident, noticing some of it's more refined features after having been connected with it's soul. The three prongs were sharp, even on the outer sides, giving it the ability to slash, just as well as stab. While slightly worn in places, that was due to overuse, and the deterioration of time without proper care. Even the pole, it's worn and tattered wrappings show large indents, no doubt the previous wielder was a Fishmen.

"Ever seen someone fight with a spear?" Ichigo questioned, turning his attention away from the trident to the bounty hunter. Yosaku thought for a moment, recalling a few times that he had and nodded. "While not exactly the same, it's the same type of premises." Ichigo told him. "A spear's primarily a thrusting weapon, but with this particular trident, you can also use it as a pu dao." Ichigo explained only getting a blank stare from Yosaku. "It means you can slash with it."

"Oh… cool!" Yosaku grinned as Ichigo handed him back the trident.

"I don't know that much about it, but as long as you get a proper stance, you'll get the hang of it eventually." Ichigo explained as Yosaku nodded.

"Thanks Big Bro." Yosaku grinned as Ichigo nodded, Yosaku taking a wide footed stance, probably similar to the spear users he had seen and tried to thrust with it before resetting his stance to something that he deemed more comfortable. Ichigo watched Yosaku and Johnny for a while as they practised on their own before heading back over to Nojiko.

"What'd you do with the trident?" Nojiko questioned as Ichigo leaned against the side of the house, watching as the two trained on their own. Ichigo glanced at the blue haired woman before shrugging.

"I just connected my soul with the weapons to get a better understanding of it." Ichigo simply told her, Nojiko blinking at such a blunt answer.

"You can do that? Wait, the weapon has a Soul?" She asked after a few moments of silence. Ichigo simply nodded slightly.

"Everything has a soul." Ichigo told her. "Honestly, not that long ago I wasn't aware of it myself. It varies from object to object, and the one actually pulling on the object's soul." Ichigo explained a little. "For example, with the trident, I was able to gain a better understanding of it due to the experiences that it has had." Ichigo reached for his badge and held it up to her. "For this." Nojiko watched a spark of light erupted from the badge before it was suddenly transformed into a sword. "Since I have a high affinity with the badge, I'm able to manipulate its shape."

"That's insane." Nojiko breathed out as Ichigo let the badge return to its natural state before attaching it back to his pants. "No wonder Nami thought that it would catch a high price." She laughed as Ichigo's eyebrow twitched. "You talk to ghosts, do weird things with souls of objects… just what else can you do?"

"_That's what I want to know." _Ichig thought to himself, still curious of what his capabilities were. He had already used a Cero, and a Gran Rey Cero, not to mention whatever he had used to block Arlong's attacks. There was still much he was finding out about his own powers.

The marching of footsteps brought Ichigo and Nojiko's attention to the path coming from Cocoyasi Village. Even Johnny and Yosaku stopped what they were doing as Pudding Pudding and a few Marines followed him up the track. Ichigo headed from Nojiko's house and stood on the track as he waited for the Commodore, Yosaku and Johnny flanking him on either side.

"Ah, I see this is the orchard you spoke of." Pudding Pudding started looking around at the surrounding Tangerine trees. "Arlong's death has been confirmed and with affirmation from Genzo, the Village Sheriff that you were the one to defeat Arlong." Ichigo nodded.

"That's right Big Bro's stronger then an entire crew of Fishmen Pirates!" Yosaku applauded.

"Yeah, no bounty's too big for Big Bro to take down!" Ichigo just wanted the two to shut up. They were just prolonging whatever the Commodore was going to say. The Commodore held his hand out to Ichigo and Ichigo took a step forward, taking the offered hand.

"You have my sincerest gratitude for dealing with this scum. It's been far too long since Arlong and his crew arrived here. Despite us being Marines, we were unable to do anything against the crew." Pudding Pudding spoke. "It's come to our attention during investigating the documents in Arlong Park that there was underhanded treachery among our own ranks as well." He continued on with.

"Yeah, figured as much." Ichigo nodded before gesturing to the orchard with a nod of his head. "About twenty feet into the orchard you'll find them no doubt." Pudding Pudding was surprised but ordered his men to go look into the orchard. "They were here when we got here."

"Why would they come here?" The Commodore asked.

"Said something about a thief burying treasure here." Nojiko spoke up, surprising Ichigo. "Apparently the Cat Burglar Nami, the infamous thief buried her loot on the island somewhere."

"I've heard the tale of such a thief, stealing from pirates and the like." The Commodore started rubbing his chin before locking eyes with Ichigo. "No reports of her coming to this island, and I highly doubt Arlong would allow a human into his ranks. Probably a rat chasing false information." He continued. "Please, should you ever find the stolen goods, report them immediately."

"Of course, Commodore." Nojiko nodded, Ichigo still trying to figure out why Nojiko had sold out her sister.

"Now, about your reward for Arlong's bounty." Pudding Pudding began. "Unfortunately, due to the large sum that it is, it's quite clear that we do not have it on our persons." He explained.

"Then what about the treasure at Arlong Park?" Yosaku questioned.

"Yeah, Arlong was sure to have treasure hidden somewhere." Johnny added.

"That needs to be seized and documented before handed over to the government and I'd like to keep this official, wouldn't you?" He questioned Ichigo.

"Probably better to do it that way." Ichigo nodded. "So, how does it work?" He asked.

"Due to the large sum of the reward, you'll need to head to one of Marine HQ's branches and give them this." The Commodore reached into his jacket and pulled out a sealed letter. "There should be no questions asked and you'll be given the bounty."

"Right." Ichigo nodded, taking the sealed letter and placing it inside of his own jacket. Just as he did so, the Marines came back through the orchard causing Pudding Pudding to turn with a look of dissatisfaction on his face as the culprits were led from the orchard by the Marines.

"Take them to the ship, we'll take them to HQ where they'll be punished for their crimes." The Commodore ordered.

"Yes Sir!" The Marines saluted before turning and walking down the track with Nezumi and his men in tow. The Commodore turned to Ichigo and the others before giving a slight nod before following after his men. Within minutes they were out of sight.

"I'll guess we'll be heading off then, right Big Bro?" Johnny questioned.

"I mean we got that bounty to collect and all. I'm sure the boat Luffy, Sanji and I got here with, is probably still around. We can use that." Yosaku added, the two already heading down the track causing Ichigo to blink a few times.

"Ah, where exactly do you think you two are going?" Ichigo questioned causing the two to stop and turn to face him. "You two seem to be thinking that the three of us are going to set out on some kind of adventure together." He accused them with a slight glare. Yosaku and Johnny glanced at one another before smiles came to their faces.

"Of course, it's an order from Big Sis Nami?" Johnny told Ichigo as Yosaku nodded beside him.

"From Nami?" Nojiko questioned just as surprised as Ichigo was at the news.

"Yeah, Big Sis Nami explicitly told us to look out for you Big Bro." Yosaku continued. "She said she'd take it out of our hides if we didn't." Nojiko smiled as Ichigo ran a hand down his face. "So let's go." He cheered as he and Johnny began to walk down the track once more.

"You have got to be kidding me." Ichigo muttered under his breath.

"Hey, that's no way to show gratitude for their help." Nojiko laughed as she walked past Ichigo, following after Johnny and Yosaku before turning to face him. "Looks like you're stuck with them till Nami let's them off the hook." She continued only causing Ichigo to groan.

* * *

"Here it is." Yosaku stated, standing proudly on the small boat that had obviously come from the baratie. The boat was a relatively small vessel without any visible armaments aboard, its outward appearance was based on a saucepan on top of a frying pan with green painted stripes over the natural brown of the wood. Currently it's sail was up and the anchor dropped.

"Once we get the bounty, then we can buy a ship worth sailing." Johnny added with a nod as he looked inside the cabin.

Ichigo honestly didn't really know what to think. Once more he'd be travelling with Johnny and Yosaku, it's not like he didn't like them but there were more tolerable people in the world. He was still trying to come to terms with the fact that Nami had told them to go with him.

"_Is this some kind of payback for telling her she fit in with Luffy and the others?"_ Ichigo pondered to himself.

"If I'm right." Yosaku began. "The closest Marine HQ would be Loguetown, right?" He asked, turning to Johnny for confirmation.

"Yeah, they've got a shipyard there too. Two birds one stone." Johnny added with a grin. Ichigo sighed, about ready to get onboard the boat before a hand landed on his shoulder causing him to turn and glance back at Nojiko who smiled.

"Just gonna leave without a word?" She questioned with a slight smirk.

"You people party too much, it'd probably be better if I just disappear without the commotion." He explained with a half hearted smirk of his own. Nojiko shook her head in amusement.

"Just one thing, before you go." Ichigo raised an eyebrow in question, curious to know what she wanted. "How come you didn't let Nami go with you?" Ichigo's eyes widened slightly. "You know she would have, don't you? Yet, you encouraged her to go with the others."

"Nami had a dream right? Map the entire world?" Nojiko's eyes widened slightly. "I still don't even know what I'm doing, I couldn't let her risk giving up the opportunity of a lifetime, for what? Hanging around me?" Ichigo turned and walked the small dock with little more than a wave over his shoulder.

"Bye Big Sis Nojiko!" Johnny and Yosaku were crying as Johnny lowered the sail, Yosaku raised the anchor while Ichigo found a seat. Nojiko only smiled with a simple wave as they too sailed off into the ocean, leaving her to tell the others that their savior had left.

* * *

"How long till we reach Loguetown?" Johnny questioned as he and Yosaku looked over a map. Yosaku hummed in thought before looking out at the horizon where dark storm clouds seemed to be gathered causing the sky to turn dark in that area. It didn't look the slightest bit inviting but that was the direction of Loguetown, maybe they should wait it out?

"It's still a few hours away, but that storm will slow us down even further." Yosaku told Johnny to get a nod from the dark haired man. "It came out of nowhere." Both looked on at the storm, the waves around them had already started to pick up a bit and it was unlikely that their small boat would survive if they did venture into the raging storm. It was almost like the storm wasn't natural.

"Probably best to wait it out in calmer waters, I'm sure Big Bro wouldn't mind." Johnny added getting a nod of agreement from Yosaku as he rolled up the map and slipped it into his jacket. Going from there, both bounty hunters got to work, Johnny adjusting the sail while Yosaku went to the rudder to redirect their course.

Ichigo all the while was unaware of the outside world as he sat atop the cabin in the familiar position of Jinzen.

"Think he's going to be doing that much longer?" Yosaku questioned as both leaned on the railing looking up at the orange haired teen.

"He's been at it forever." Johnny nodded in agreement. "Maybe that's what makes him so strong? Meditating like that?"

"Who knows, maybe?" Yosaku added.

They had sailed into calmer waters now, the storm still off in the distance but no longer disturbing the waters around them. Yosaku was keeping one eye on the storm as he conversed with Johnny reliving the good old days when they went bounty hunting with Zoro.

"Think we'll get stronger with Big Bro training us?" Johnny asked. "I feel like we can get stronger if we're with him. We've got new weapons, a new look on life and a whole world to see." Yosaku nodded in agreement.

"I wonder what Big Bro plans on doing." Yosaku spoke after a few moments. "Big Sis Nami didn't really give us much to go on, just that he'd probably go out and see the world."

"Don't really know what she meant by that." Johnny added. "But if Big Bro is planning on heading to the Grand Line, we should probably get a bigger crew." Yosaku nodded.

"A bigger crew huh?" Ichigo's voice reached them causing both to look up to see Ichigo now standing, stretching his arms above his head. "Could be useful, especially if we have a bigger ship since I have no idea how to sail in the slightest." He added as he looked down at the duo. "You sure you want to head to the Grand Line with me?" He had at least set his mind on his general direction, the Grand Line seemed to be the place to be in this so called Pirate Era.

He had come to the conclusion that while the two had good intentions, they were slightly cowardly in some instances. While they were more courageous than Usopp and stood up for themselves like they did to that Marine back at the Baratie, he didn't want to drag them to the Grand Line if they didn't truly want to go, despite what Nami told them to do.

"If Big Bro trains us to be strong, the Grand Line won't stand a chance!" Johnny cheered.

"That's right!" Yosaku pumped his fist in the air. Ichigo glanced down at the two, it was clear that they were holding to Nami's orders, but also showing a new resolve to get stronger. He couldn't fault the want to be stronger, how many times before Ginjo and Xcution appeared had he wanted the same thing? Having given up his strength for normality it was like giving up a part of himself.

"I'm no teacher." Ichigo told them, causing the two to glance at one another. "But I'll do what I can."

"Yeah!" Both cheered, causing Ichigo to shake his head, before noticing a shadow in the water, sinking underneath the boat. Turning his attention, following the direction he reached out for the presence, a scowl coming to his face. It had followed them from Conomi Island.

"Heads up, we've got company." Ichigo instructed, causing the two to come alive at the words, both rushing for their newly acquired weapons as Ichigo's eyes scanned the water. It was moving, he was sure it was the same Fishmen that had been at Arlong Park, watching them. Why was it here? Did it seek some kind of revenge? If it did, why hadn't it done anything? It had plenty of opportunities up until now, so why wait?

Johnny and Yosaku stood back to back, weapons in hand looking out to the horizon for the threat, yet there was nothing in sight. Looking up at Ichigo, they saw him watching the water intently, moving as if something was circling them. Swallowing nervously both men headed for the sides of the boat and looked over cautiously.

Ichigo raised his arms up getting into a basic fighting position, hands clenched into fists, focusing as he steadied his breathing. Watching the water as the shadow moved beneath. But he pushed past just sight, sensing out for the presence in the water, since he didn't have his own enormous reiatsu to contend with he was getting the gist of picking up different signatures. It was handy.

Green sparks started to form around his right fist. Concentrenting he felt what he had when he fought Arlong, feeling the reiatsu that made up his bringer light condense, turning it from it's vibrant green to black with a crimson outline. Soon enough, the darkened condensed bringer light coated his fist. He took aim at the shadow and shot his fist forward.

The Bala shot forward at tremendous speeds, impacting the water with a massive explosion causing the boat to tilt as the waves crashed against the side. Ichigo braced himself, steading his feet as he felt for any damage from the Bala. He knew they weren't as strong as a regular Cero, but he was still in his human body. While he was stronger, he wanted to make sure that there were no negative effects.

Feeling nothing, not the slightest bit of discomfort like when he had fired the Gran Rey Cero, or the Cero from his eye. Turned out he could handle a Bala with relative ease, the training he did to attain his Fullbring probably helped.

"_Something else I can add to the arsenal."_ Ichigo figured as he picked up on the presence in the water shot across the surface. Smirking, it'd make good target practice. "Brace yourself!" Ichigo called down to Johnny and Yosaku who were still wide eyed shocked as they tried to regain their balance from the first blast.

Both of them continued to watch as Ichigo shot forth black balls of sheer power into the water over and over alternating between fists. Seemingly following something, attacking whatever was beneath the surface. Each blast sent their boat hurdling across the surface of the ocean, waves crashing back and forth onto the deck. They barely had time to register when the next blast of water was coming from.

Panting slightly, Ichigo's Bala onslaught came to a halt, his arms feeling slightly numb after the numerous attacks. He had noticed after a while that the power of each, along with the speed was dwindling, showing just how much reiatsu he had now to what was once an endless supply. He hadn't hit the assumed Fishman, instead just keeping it on it's toes. He wanted to know why it was following him and it had given him a workout.

"I-Is it over?" Yosaku asked, as he and Johnny huddled together, both of the bounty hunters completely soaked by the onslaught of waves.

"_Okay… maybe... I overdid it a bit." _Ichigo mused as he saw the boat was completely drenched. Turning his attention back to the shadowy figure beneath the surface. "Come on up!" Ichigo called out, a few moments passed by before bubbles began to surface as the shadow rose up. The first thing to breach through the water was a spike of grey hair, followed by a few more before a long pink face emerged.

"It's a Fishman!" Johnny and Yosaku cried out.

"W-Wait! I don't mean any harm!" The octopus Fishman called out, not wanting to scare the two. "I just want to talk!" Ichigo remembered him, though he didn't catch his name. He was one of the ones that held Arlong back when Ichigo had emerged with Kiribichi just before Arlong had flung into a rage.

"You've been following us since Arlong Park, right?" Ichigo questioned gaining the Fishmen's attention while also surprising Johnny and Yosaku, they had no idea. "Why are you following us?" He followed up. A downtrodden look came to the Fishman's face causing Ichigo to sigh, the guy was feeling guilty despite having lost his crew this guy seemed to somewhat have a conscience despite everything he probably did over the years.

"Come aboard." Ichigo told him.

"WHAT!?" It wasn't just Johnny and Yosaku that shouted in surprise, it was the Fishman as well, completely shocked by the invitation.

* * *

Ichigo noticed that with four of them aboard, the room on the small boat was scarce. He was currently sitting on the railing of the boat, Johnny was inside the cabin preparing something to drink for everyone. Yosaku had pulled a chair over to the bow of the boat to keep as much distance between himself and the Fishman while Hatchan, or Hachi as he preferred to be called, sat awkwardly on a chair far too small for him. Johnny was right about needing a bigger boat.

"So, why are you following us?" Ichigo questioned. "Want revenge for what I did to Arlong and the rest of your crew?" He continued.

"What?! No, of course not!" Hatchi said, waving his six arms. "I just…" Johnny came out with a tray and four cups of tea. Handing one to both Ichigo and Yosaku before placing one on the table for Hachi.

"If not revenge, then what?" Yosaku questioned, turning to Ichigo as Johnny leaned on the railing beside Yosaku. Hachi lowered his head slightly.

"I know what Arlong did was wrong." Hachi began. "But…" Hachi shook his head. "No excuses will make up for what Arlong or the rest of the crew did."

"We're not the ones you need to tell this too." Yosaku told him. "Big Sis may have gone off with the others, but you could at least try to make amends on Conomi Island."

"Help rebuild, help them prosper." Johnny added with a nod.

"It's not that simple." Ichigo sighed while a good notion for sure there were certain aspects that wouldn't work out, this gained the attention of the three. "Think about it, he goes to the island and what do you think would happen? Not to mention the Marine presence on the island now, it'd be like throwing his life away if he did that." Ichigo explained.

"Isn't that what he deserves?" Johnny questioned. "After everything Arlong and his crew did to Big Sis Nami?"

"We're not the ones to be able to judge that." Ichigo responded. "Unlike the other Fishmen, Hachi doesn't seem to hate humans. I was told that Arlong's crew held hatred for humans." Hachi nodded softly at the unasked question. "Hatred doesn't stem from nothing. There's probably a story behind it somewhere." He shrugged as Hachi stared at him with wide eyes. "But like I said, it's not our place to judge on what Hatchi did in the past. Sure he might be a Pirate, but he's not like the other members of Arlong's crew. The fact he's here proves that."

Johnny and Yosaku glanced at one another, unsure of what to make of what Ichigo had said all the while Hachi was staring at Ichigo with wide eyes, tears threatening to fall. Ichigo awkwardly looked away from the Fishman, why the hell was he crying? He just said what he believed was the truth. Plus what right did he have to decide the fate of another? Yes he had killed Arlong and several other Fishman, but that was a survival situation. If he hadn't fought back, he'd have died.

But there was still something that was bugging Ichigo, it was weird enough that Hachi had come to them, why hadn't he followed after Nami to apologise to her? Shrugging, it wasn't really his business to know the Fishman's doings. Clearing his throat he turned back to Hachi.

"So, what do you plan on doing now?" Ichigo questioned the Fishman.

"I don't know." Hachi admitted. "I thought about going home to Fishman Island." Ichigo blinked, there was a place called Fishman Island? Where was it, at the bottom of the ocean? He almost laughed at the prospect.

"Wait! Fishman Island exists!?" Johnny and Yosaku shouted, almost deafening the only teen on the boat, they were way too excited. Hachi nodded to the two.

"It does, I was born there." Hachi told them with a nod.

"What's so special about this place?" Ichigo questioned, probably figuring he should atleast have an idea of what the two bounty hunters were going on about.

"MERMAIDS!" Johnny and Yosaku shouted, almost deafening the teen as he winced at the loud volume.

"Of course." Ichigo muttered rubbing at his eyes in irritation, he should have put two and two together. Why else would they be excited to go to a place crawling with Fishmen? They were literally… chasing tail. Turning to Hachi Ichigo asked. "So where is it, this Fishman Island?"

"We're going Big Bro!?" Johnny questioned hopefully.

"You're the best Big Bro!" Yosaku cheered as both he and Johnny jumped up linking arms as they danced around in joy, singing about mermaids and what not. Ichigo ignored the duo for the moment and turned back to Hachi.

"On the Grand Line, I presume?" Ichigo asked, he figured since Yosaku and Johnny believed it to be a myth, despite the fact that a Fishman was sitting right in front of them, and how much mystery surrounded the Grand Line considering what Nami had told him, it was only a logical conclusion.

"Yes." Hachi nodded. "It's a long way from here, you need to make it through the first half of the Grand Line and then get to a depth of ten thousand feet below the ocean's surface." Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise. "It's doable, it's been done for decades. There's a certain process that allows ships to sail underwater." Hachi assured him. Ichigo sat back on the rail thinking it over. It's not like he had a destination and seeing a mermaid, or an island ten thousand feet beneath sea level for the matter would be a sight to see. Turning his attention back to the bounty hunter duo, both were looking at him with their equivalent of puppy dog eyes, it was sickening to look at.

"Might as well make it a destination to head too." Ichigo shrugged. "It's not like we had anything else planned but sail on the Grand Line really." Ichigo explained as he scratched at the side of his head. "Kind curious about it too if I'm being honest."

"About the mermaids." Yosaku suggested wiggingly his eyebrows, getting in close as Johnny nodded with a massive grin on his face.

"No." Ichigo shut them both down, grabbing his face and pushing him away. "Probably going to take us a while if it's at the ass end of the first half of the Grand Line." Ichigo mused. "Probably take the scenic route." Johnny and Yosaku deflated at that, they were hoping to get to Fishman Island as soon as possible. "So Hachi." The Fishman turned to Ichigo with a questioning look. "Want to ride with us to Fishman Island?"

"What!? You want me to join your crew and travel the Grand Line with you?" Hachi shouted in surprise, Johnny and Yosaku just as surprised. None had been expecting such an invitation.

"It was just a suggestion." Ichigo shrugged. "We're heading in the same direction right? Sure it might take a little longer with us. But I figured you've been on the Grand Line before right? It might be good to have someone with a bit more experience so we're not walking into this blind." Ichigo explained.

"B-But I'm a Fishman." Hachi began, Ichigo's scowl softening lightly, it was clear there was prejudice over race here. "I've done terrible things under Arlong's reign." He continued shaking his head, six fists gripping tightly as he looked up staring Ichigo dead in the eye. "Why?"

"Why not?" Ichigo questioned with a shrug. "As long as you're fine traveling me, despite what I did back at Arlong Park." Ichigo told him. "I'm no saint, and as for you being a Fishman? Trust me, I've befriended a lot worse." Ichigo added, recalling an Arrancar with a cracked mask with a fond smile. "So?" He asked. Hachi used one of his many arms to wipe his eyes before he came back with a large smile.

"Yes, I'll join you." Hachi nodded as Ichigo stood up and offered Hachi his hand. Hachi returned the favor by taking Ichigo's.

"It's up to you if you want to keep traveling with us past Fishman Island." Ichigo told him before turning to Johnny and Yosaku. "Any problems with this?" He asked the two.

"No Big Bro, we trust you." Johnny grinned.

"Plus, I'm sure Big Bro Hachi knows all the mermaids!" Yosaku added. Hachi raised a hand up and held the back of his head as he laughed. "You do know mermaids, right Big Bro Hachi?"

"You'll introduce us right!?" Johnny continued as Hachi continued to laugh. Meanwhile Ichigo glanced around, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"_Why are we stopped? I thought we were heading to Loguetown?"_


	13. Chapter 13

As Loguetown came into view. It was clear that something was up. Marine ships were everywhere. It was Johnny and Yosaku that had pointed out that something was wrong, even though Loguetown housed a Marine Base, there generally wasn't this much force shown. Had something happened in that storm? Ichigo wasn't really sure as he leaned against the cabin as they sailed into Marine ship filled waters. While they garnered some attention, it wasn't enough for anyone to call out to them to stop, it's not like they were flying a jolly roger or something. They were seemingly too preoccupied with whatever had happened.

Yosaku currently had hold of the rudder, easing them into port while Hachi and Johnny were doing something inside the Cabin, he honestly wasn't sure what Hachi had asked Johnny for help with, and it was probably better he didn't unless he wanted to get dragged into it. His crew… that was going to be something that he was going to have to get used to. So far, his crew was filled with a few large personalities. Two bounty hunters and a fishman.

If the crew was just going to get bigger, he better add some normalcy to it, people without personality quirks. Focusing on the town as it came closer Ichigo did his best to ignore the Marine presence. There were still people going about their days, some even repairing damage from the freak storm that had passed through. Yosaku directed them to a rather empty pier with only a few small fishing boats present. Both he and Ichigo grabbed some ropes and tied their boat up to the pier.

Ichigo jumped from the boat to the pier, stretching his legs slightly as he once more got used to stable ground. He was still getting used to life on the sea. He figured it was going to take him some time still to fully get accustomed to it. Especially if they were actually going to pick up a ship here. He was expecting to head to the Grand Line from here, or at least that was the plan. No point prolonging it and staying around here any longer.

"You two done in there?" Ichigo glanced down to the cabin's entrance where Yosaku had knocked on the door, Johnny walking out with a grin as Hachi followed after him. It seems they were doing their best to hide Hachi's status as a Fishman. No longer did he wear just his orange striped shirt, now he had a large button down overcoat roughly sewn together, only two of his arms were visible, the others hidden underneath the large coat. What surprised Ichigo the most, was probably the fake bandages he had covering the mark on his forehead. What was that about?

"You really think that a disguise is going to work?" Ichigo questioned, Ichigo figured he didn't need the disguise. Sure he could be associated with Arlong's crew, but nobody would know for sure. Was the prejudice against Fishmen really that bad?

"I used to come to Loguetown once a month for Arlong to get information on what was happening on the Grand Line." Hachi explained. "While it's not the best at the moment, it'll certainly do." He finished as he and Johnny followed Yosaku up onto the pier. Ichigo had to wonder why Arlong wanted information on the Grand Line, but shrugged it's not like it concerned him much. He'd figure the Grand Line out when he got there and with all the information Hachi had on the Grand Line, it was probably a good thing for them.

The four walked from where their boat was docked into the bustling streets, Ichigo noting that neither Johnny or Yosaku had brought their weapons with them. It was probably a good thing to be honest. If in some miraculous way trouble did start, they wouldn't be proficient enough with them to be of any use in a fight, at least not yet. He'd have to get to training them, first they needed to build up the strength to properly use their weapons. With any luck, his crew wouldn't be like Luffy's and find trouble everywhere they went.

Hachi took the lead, heading through the streets of Loguetown. Ichigo had come right out and told him why they were heading to Loguetown, to collect on Arlong's bounty. He had no reason to hide it and honestly if Hachi was going to be a part of their crew there was no way he was going to keep secrets. He'd had enough of secrets, while he'd still keep where he was from deep down, didn't mean he had to keep everything a secret. Hachi didn't seem troubled by the fact, despite Johnny and Yosaku thinking that he was going to freak out once Ichigo had told him.

"So this is Loguetown?" Ichigo questioned as they walked through the streets, it was clear that the storm had recently passed through here leaving puddles of water in its wake.

"It's generally the last stop for anyone heading to the Grand Line." Hachi explained. "It holds a rather unique place in history."

"The start of the Great Pirate Era." Johnny nodded. "This is where they executed Gold Roger." Ichigo frowned slightly, Nami had mentioned him before when they were heading to the Baratie. It was probably best not to act like he knew nothing, just nod and go along with whatever they said, they obviously would know more about this world then what he did. He'd pick it up over time and come to know it, just like he knew his own world's history.

"So what's the plan here?" Ichigo asked as they walked, Hachi presumably leading them to the Marine HQ so they could pick up their bounty. "We've been talking about getting a bigger ship, so that's at least a start. We should pick it up before heading out."

"There's a shipyard not too far up the coast." Hachi explained to the group. "We should be able to pick something up there, and might even find something good."

"After we get the money from the bounty, should we head straight there?" Yosaku asked as Johnny rose a hand to his chin in thought.

"Hmm, if we want to be productive, maybe we should split up?" Johnny suggested. "We'll just have to come back here to fill the ship with supplies anyway." He had a point, no point double tracking, it'd just be a waste of time. Not that they were in a hurry but Ichigo would rather get to the Grand Line sooner rather than later. He had to wonder if this was a ploy on Johnny's part to get to Fishman Island sooner, if even by a little?

"Johnny's right, we should split up." Ichigo agreed. "When we've got the money, Hachi and I will head for the shipyard, you two gather what supplies we need."

"Right Big Bro!" Yosaku and Johnny saluted, causing Ichigo to sigh as they walked, they were probably never going to stop calling him Big Bro.

"I'm going with you to the shipyard?" Hachi questioned pointing at himself as the two walked ahead of Johnny and Yosaku.

"Yeah, figured you wouldn't want to always stay in a disguise." Ichigo shrugged. "Don't feel that you have to wear a disguise either." Ichigo continued surprising Hachi. "I'm not going to treat you any different because you're a Fishman. If anyone causes you trouble, I'll help you settle it. If it comes to blows, so be it."

"You're different from most humans." Hachi smiled softly, remembering a young girl from years ago.

"That's an understatement of the century." Ichigo breathed out, getting a questioning look from the octopus man. "Forget it." He waved it off as the two continued on, Johnny and Yosaku following them as they headed for the Marine HQ.

The city of Loguetown seemed to be a bustling with Marines as they got closer and closer to the HQ. When they reached the Marine HQ building it was clear there was panic, orders were being shouted out and chaos seemed to be running rampant as the Marines tried to fix whatever mess had happened.

"I'll wait out here." Hachi stated, getting the three to turn to him. "I may be in disguise, but if Captain Smoker is around no doubt he'll be able to spot that something is up."

"Alright, we shouldn't be long." Ichigo told him, getting a nod from the Fishman who found a place to wait for the time being. Ichigo, Johnny and Yosaku headed inside to the chaotic mess of the Marine HQ. Ichigo set a scowl on his face as he looked around this unkempt chaos before finding what he assumed to be a reception desk. Walking over to it, pulling out the sealed envelope from his jacket's pocket.

The Marine behind the desk was hurriedly searching through papers, completely ignorant to Ichigo standing before him.

"Oi." Ichigo growled causing the Marine to pause and look up. "Where do I collect bounties from?" He questioned the man. The Marine looked around, seeing if there was anyone else that could potentially deal with this before sighing as he spotted Johnny and Yosaku, the two infamous for bringing in low bounties all across the East Blue. He didn't have time for this, he had way too much paperwork to do.

"I'm afraid with recent events, we're not giving out bounties for anything less than ten million beri's you'll have to try again another day. We're swamped and don't have time to deal with anything less." Ichigo's scowl grew, his eyes narrowing as the Marine simply went back to what he was doing, ignoring them once again. He remained calm going to speak up again but someone, more so the duo of idiots behind him, beat him to it.

"Hey punk! Big Bro Ichigo took down Arlong! Arlong the Saw! A Twenty Million Beri bounty! Got time for us now!?" Johnny and Yosaku shouted, causing the entire building to quiet down as the three became the centre of attention for the Marines. Ichigo rubbed his eyes in irritation, these two really couldn't keep their damn mouths shut.

"Look, I have a letter here from Commodore… Pudding Pudding." Ichigo sighed, he really never thought he'd say that. He showed the Marine the sealed letter who looked at it with wide eyes. The Marine hastily stood up as he took the letter.

"I just have to talk to my supervisor, please wait a moment." The Marine started getting a nod from Ichigo as he quickly rushed off. Ichigo cast a glare over the room and the Marines seemed to quickly get back to work. The three waited a few minutes before the Marine came back with a young woman wearing glasses and a floral t-shirt under a navy blue Marine coat. They walked over to where Ichigo was waiting.

"Bounty Hunter." The Marine called out to Ichigo as the teen looked up, a slight twitch in his brow forming at the name. "This is Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi, she'd like to talk to you." Ichigo glanced at the young woman and nodded his head, at least they weren't sexist. He was still dealing with the racism aspect surrounding Hachi, he'd rather not have to deal with much more on top of that.

"Right this way…" She began.

"Kurosaki Ichigo." Ichigo introduced himself. The Petty Officer glanced around to where Johnny and Yosaku were standing awkwardly unsure what they should be doing, causing Ichigo to sigh. "Go wait outside with Hachi."

"Right Big Bro!" Both saluted before both hightailed it out of the Marine Base. Ichigo turned back to Tashigi who led him into the back office, the Marine who had sought out Tashigi's help going back to his work. Ichigo was led into a tidy office, noticing several katanas propped up on a set of shelves on the wall. Tashigi smiled as she saw the teen take notice of them.

"Swords that I've reclaimed from the hands of Pirates." Tashigi gestured for him to take a seat. "I'm sorry about the chaos at the base."

"I was wondering about what that was all about." Ichigo stated as he took a seat, Tashigi taking a seat behind her desk. "Something going on?"

"We had an… incident you could say." Tashigi sighed softly, knowing of her own folly in the mechanics of what had happened. "A group of pirates got rowdy and set the entire town into chaos." She explained. "Since then, pirates have been getting more and more brave, causing the Marine's to act, Loguetown isn't what it once was."

"Just because of one group of pirates?" Ichigo questioned, only getting a shrug from Tashigi. Deciding it was probably left alone for now. "So, about the bounty?"

"Right." Tashigi nodded. "Did you really take down Arlong?" She questioned.

"Yes." Ichigo nodded. "The Commodore said I wouldn't have any trouble collecting the bounty with his letter." He told her, hoping that there wasn't some kind of problem. Their purchasing of a ship, lay with that money.

"No, there is no trouble. I'm having it brought here as we speak. I've confirmed the letter's documents." She assured him. "I just wanted to give thanks. The people of Conomi Island must have been happy to know that they were no longer under such a tyrannical rule." Ichigo smiled softly, remembering how much they let loose when all was said and done. Honestly… he was just glad Bell-mère had been able to pass on.

"Tashigi!" A shout came from outside the room, obviously coming down the hall. "Tashigi! Where are you!?" Immediately the woman opposite him got up from her desk and hurried to the door, opening it and stepping out for a moment.

"Here Captain!" Tashigi called down before stepping back into the room. Moments later a large man with white hair that reeked of smoke entered the office and considering the several cigars hanging from his mouth and more lining his jacket Ichigo understood why, he was clearly not happy with whoever had pissed in his coffee that morning.

"Who's this?" Smoker ordered seeing the orange haired teen in the office as Tashigi saluted.

"Sir! This is Kurosaki Ichigo, a bounty hunter that took down Arlong the Saw!" She declared as Ichigo rose to his feet standing across from the man. "He's come to claim the bounty, Sir!" She had been so stoic moments before but now infront of this man was so professional.

"You took down Arlong?" Smoker scoffed, causing Ichigo to scowl slightly in response. "Whatever." Smoker turned his attention back to Tashigi. "Did you get those Wanted Posters authorised? I want Straw Hat's face planted on every wall of every city!" Ichigo's eyes widened slightly, they couldn't mean Luffy could they? The hell did Luffy do to get a Wanted Poster? Sure the straw hat wearing teen would be ecstatic to know that he was a wanted man, but still.

"Not yet Sir, I've yet to issue the bounty. Are you sure Ten Million is high enough?" She questioned.

"Do you mean Monkey D. Luffy?" Ichigo asked, curiosity getting the better of him causing both Marines to turn to him.

"You know Straw Hat?" Smoker questioned, eyes narrowing posture shifting. If Ichigo didn't know any better he'd say the man was about to lunge at him.

"Saw him at the Baratie by chance, less than a week ago." Ichigo shrugged, it seemed like the Captain and the Petty Officer wanted more information, or more so wanted to state why Ichigo was there and in no way allied to the Straw Hats. "That uh… what was his name." Ichigo wracked his brain, trying to recall the events that he missed at the Baratie that Nami had filled him in on, while she hadn't been there she heard what she needed to from the rest of the crew. "Krieg? Yeah, Don Krieg. I was after his bounty." Ichigo stated.

"Don Krieg was at the Baratie?" Smoker questioned, eyes narrowing. "Last I heard, he was on the Grand Line."

"Ah, not true Sir." Tashigi spoke up. "Don Krieg's bounty was claimed several days ago at a Marine Base, he must have made his way back." She explained rushing to her desk. "I've got the report somewhere." She searched through her desk before plucking one from the mess. "It was definitely Don Krieg." Tashigi nodded offering the page to Smoker, but the man ignored it and continued to stare at Ichigo.

"You turned in Krieg too?" Smoker questioned.

"No." Ichigo shook his head. "When I got to the Baratie, Straw Hat and Krieg were already duking it out." Ichigo shrugged, surprising the two Marines. "I'm not one to go after a beaten dog when it's down, so I picked my next target which happened to be Arlong."

"Why the hell didn't you go after Straw Hat then!?" Smoker shouted, gripping Ichigo by the jacket and pulling him forward, Ichigo's eyes hardening as he glared back at Smoker.

"He didn't have a bounty on him, so what was the point?" Smoker growled and pushed Ichigo away, the teen easily keeping his footing.

"If Straw Hat defeated Krieg, he's stronger than he looks." Ichigo mentally chuckled at that, he would have to say the same most people out there would definitely underestimate Luffy. "Raise his bounty to twenty… no make it twenty five million and get that request in by the end of the hour! We're pursuing Straw Hat as soon as the ship is ready."

"Sir?" Tashigi was surprised at the sudden order. "You've been given the clearance?" Smoker didn't say anything and left the office. Tashigi sighed as she hung her head slightly. "Sorry about that."

"Seems like you've got it tough." Ichigo mused. "Sorry if I made your job harder." He apologised.

"No, it's okay." Tashigi smiled. "Thankyou for the information you provided on Straw Hat Luffy, I'm sure in your line of work you know how bad a situation can get if you don't know how dangerous your enemy is." Ichigo nodded slightly, understanding the concept at least. He was sure Luffy would be happy about the increased bounty.

* * *

Ichigo left the Marine HQ with two large silver cases in each hand. Considering he was carrying fourteen million beri, he was surprisingly calm. He had Tashigi split up the cases, so that one held thirteen while the other held just one. He didn't think that Johnny and Yosaku would need a million beri's just for supplies, but figured they could splurge a little if they wanted too, after they got what they needed at least.

It wasn't long before Hachi spotted him and waved him over to where he, Johnny and Yosaku had been waiting.

"You were gone for a while Big Bro." Yosaku began. "Did we get the bounty?"

"Yeah." Ichigo started offering him the case with a million beri inside. Yosaku reached out to take it but it seemed to be locked in Ichigo's iron like grip. Looking up at Ichigo questioningly, the teen spoke. "Buy what we need, then buy what you want. Got it?"

"Yes Big Bro." Yosaku nodded as Ichigo released his grip on the case.

"Big Bro Hachi has given us a rundown of what we'll need to buy." Johnny continued getting a nod from Ichigo. The teen noticing the slightly humble smile Hachi gave as Johnny called him Big Bro, seemed like they were coming around to the Fishman.

"We won't let you down Big Bro!" Both Johnny and Yosaku declared before rushing off only making Ichigo sigh as he turned to Hachi.

"Think they can manage?" He asked as the two began to walk in the opposite direction, heading back to the pier.

"I don't think we'll be in any trouble." Hachi explained. "But there is one thing I'd like to pick up, personally." Ichigo raised an eyebrow in question. "It's probably the most important thing we need." Hachi told him.

"Sure, let's go get it then." Ichigo nodded as the two walked down the street. Hachi was keeping an eye on the shop signs, looking for something in particular while Ichigo casually glanced around, making sure to keep his hand firmly on the silver case in his hand, last thing he wanted was for someone like Nami to come in and try to steal it.

"There." Hachi pointed Ichigo glanced up to see where Hachi was pointing at, he looked up at the sign that read 'Every SeaFarers Needs'. "I'm pretty sure that's the place." Hachi led them inside, Ichigo astonished by the amount of maps, different types of compasses, sextants, eyeglasses. All kinds of tools used for navigation. Hachi walked straight to the counter where an elderly man sat with a smile on his face.

"Welcome." The clerk greeted the two.

"Hello, we're looking for a Log Pose, do you have any in stock?" Hachi questioned. Ichigo raised his eyebrow in question, he'd never heard of a Log Pose before, was it some kind of compass? The clerk pulled out a large wooden box from behind the counter and unclasped the lock and showed them the intricate orbs inside.

"Right now, these are the only three we have in stock. You've probably heard of the ruckus caused the other day. People have been buying the entire town out of them." He explained.

"No eternal poses?" Hachi questioned.

"If I had, I'd be sitting on a beach somewhere with my wife in retirement." He laughed. Hachi nodded as he looked over the three as Ichigo examined them half heartedly, Hachi said that they needed them so they probably did. Hachi turned to Ichigo who raised an eyebrow in question.

"I think we should buy two." Hachi spoke. "They're easily breakable and if we don't have one, we can't navigate the Grand Line." He explained to Ichigo.

"If they're that important, it's probably best to get a spare just in case." Ichigo agreed. "We'll take two." Ichigo told the clerk who smiled and nodded.

"That'll be one million beri's." Ichigo's eyes widened slightly who turned to Hachi who chuckled awkwardly, the Fishman seemingly knowing how expensive they were. Sighing, Ichigo placed the case down on the counter and opened it, getting the required sum he handed it over to the clerk who began to count in earnest.

Nodding happily once he had finished he put the two log poses into two separate cases and handed them over to Hachi who handed one to Ichigo. The teen tucked it into his jacket as Hachi did the same, careful not to reveal his hidden arms. The two exited the shop and once more headed for the pier where they had moored their boat.

"Sorry, I should have warned you about the price." Hachi apologised as they walked the pier.

"It's fine, we still have twelve million for a ship." Ichigo shrugged, not really caring how much they had to spend on them. "So what is a log pose anyway?" He questioned as both bordered the boat and undid the ropes from the pier.

"It's one of two ways to travel the Grand Line." Hachi explained as he began to lower the sails, their small boat sailing out of the bay, Hachi directing them to follow the coast line as he spoke. "A Log Pose is one way, an Eternal Pose is the other."

"We may not have been able to get a ship if we got an Eternal Pose if he had one." Ichigo mused, figuring they must have cost a small fortune if a Log Pose was half a million.

"A normal compass in the Grand Line is useless." Hachi explained taking a seat as Ichigo leaned on the railing of the ship as they sailed the coastline. "Due to the climates and the strange magnetic fields of the Grand Line." He continued. "Each island has their own unique magnetic field which can be picked up by a Log Pose."

"So we travel to one island, pick up the magnetic pose for the next?" Ichigo questioned starting to get what Hachi was saying.

"Yes. Although, some islands have multiple signatures that the pose can pick up, so which island you go to can be completely random. Also, the stronger the magnetic field, the quicker the log pose will reset." Ichigo nodded in understanding. "With the Eternal Pose, it's always locked onto one location and will never change."

"I can see why it's worth so much then." Ichigo stated, if the Grand Line was such a chaotic and unpredictable place, if you had an eternal pose you could get to exactly where you were going without much trouble. "About a ship." Ichigo began. "I'll be honest, I know next to nothing about ships so I'll be relying on you for this one Hachi."

"Right, you can trust me…" Hachi nodded with a thumb's up before awkwardly adding. "Big Bro."

"Yeah, you don't have to start calling me that." Ichigo sighed. "Ichigo is just fine, I don't know why those two morons are freaking obsessed with calling everyone big bro." He muttered to himself as Hachi nodded. The two sailed along for a while until the shipyard came into view. "You sure this is the right place?" Ichigo questioned looking out over the shipyard that looked more like a scrap heap.

"It may not look like much but you can find some decent ships here." Hachi explained despite Icihgo's rather unimpressed look. Hachi began to take off the coat he and Johnny had stitched together, no longer seeing the need for it. The Marine presence around the shipyard was lax and they hadn't seen a single Marine ship along the coast line. He stretched all six of his arms out as he began to direct them into the shipyard's waterway with the rudder.

The entrance of the Waterway was held open by a large wooden gate on either side, as their small boat sailed through there were lines of ships on either side. They were better to look up close than from a far. Ichigo stood at the bow of the boat, taking in each ship as they sailed toward the pier at the end of the waterway. He didn't know what he was looking for to be honest, most of these ships looked like they needed a twenty man crew to operate.

Maybe he should be looking at something smaller, like the Going Merry maybe? If he was being honest he'd rather something with an engine, something that didn't require a lot of effort to put into sailing, he wasn't especially proficient in that area with the experience he had on the Merry. He doubted he was going to find anything like that though. The closest thing he had seen to a working engine was the water drawing machine on the Merry which also stored the energy for the fridge, hot water and lights on the Merry. At least they had boundless amounts of energy to keep it going.

Pushing the thoughts of his previous crew away he continued to search through the ships. Soon enough they arrived at the pier, both mooring the boat up to the side of it and stepping onto the dock. There was a small building just on the other side with an open sign in the window. What he wasn't expecting was for a rifle to be pointed out through the window at them.

"You hooligans back for more!?" A shout came from inside. "Think you can perster an old man and get away with it! Huh! Well not this time punks!" Ichigo and Hachi shared a glance with one another.

"Easy old man!" Ichigo called back, only for the rifle to shift it's aim to him.

"Who are you calling old, brat!?" The rifle shot and the bullet impacted the dock at the teens feet causing Ichigo to scowl. "That's a warning, take another step and I won't miss, ya hear!?"

"We're not whoever you think we are!" Ichigo told him. "We're here to buy a ship, not bother you." There was silence for a short moment.

"Got the money?" The hidden man questioned as Ichigo raised up the case he had with him. The rifle drew back from the window before it slammed shut, there were a series of locks on the door that the man opened before opening the door to the building. He was a short man, wearing basic clothes and a white rope around his forehead. Rifle still in hand as he stood before the two, eyeing them warily.

"We're just looking for a ship, not going to cause you any trouble." Ichigo assured him once more, causing the man to shoulder his rifle.

"What kind of ship are you looking for?" Ichigo threw a glance at Hachi who nodded with a smile.

"We're heading for the Grand Line, something that can last long voyagers with a minimal crew." Hachi explained.

"Not a lot of options there, most caravels won't make it far on that sea." He mused, rubbing his chin. "Take a look around, I'll be with you in a minute." He assured them, getting a nod from Hachi as Ichigo walked along the dock, taking note that the man was just locking up his shop.

"_Wonder who he was waiting for, locked and loaded like that?" _Deciding it wasn't his business he looked at the ships, most were the traditional type that most of his history textbooks covered that generally revolve around pirates, or that general time period. Nothing that would easily be managed by a four man crew, even with Hachi's extra arms.

"Who did you think we were?" Hachi questioned the man now walking up to them, rifle still in hand. It seems like he didn't exactly trust them or was still expecting trouble to show up.

"Some local punks have come around harassing me lately, demanding I give them ships for free." The ship owner muttered. "Got to the point threats have been given, some of my ships have been torched. They call themselves the Barto Club, a group of wannabe gangsters." He huffed. "Their leader is ruthless." He shook his head. "But we're off topic, you want a ship."

"Any suggestions?" Ichigo inquired.

"It depends on the size of your crew." The man added.

"We've four members." Hachi nodded happily. "Me Hatchan, Johnny and Yosaku and Ichigo our Captain." Ichigo rolled his eyes slightly, when he associated someone with the title of Captain it made him think back to the Gotei Thirteen. The man rubbed his chin in thought before directing them to follow him.

"A crew of that size, your options are limited." He explained. "A caravel would do you best, probably until either your crew gets bigger or your ship sinks and you're forced to get something new." The man led them from the larger ships to where some of the smaller ones were. However something caught Ichigo's eyes, a massive structure on land that was covered by numerous tarps covering its entirety.

"What's that one?" Ichigo questioned stopping the man from his explanation as he turned to see what Ichigo was pointing at.

"No point bothering with that one, came from the Grand Line years ago, could never get it to run." The man shrugged. "Can't understand the mechanics of it in the slightest. Bunch of scrap metal all dazzled up if you ask me." He huffed before continuing on. However Ichigo didn't follow, instead walking towards the covered ship. "Hey! What'd I say! Damn brat!"

Ichigo walked up to the tarp, noticing it's stitching could easily be unraveled. Grabbing one of the ropes he imbued his arm with reiatsu before tugging on it pulled the rope through the holes causing the tarp to part to reveal the massive ship.

The massive structure consisted of three main parts, the central hull at whose sides are located two larger, elongated pontoons jutting frontwards both pontoons housing giant propulsors at the rear, the main hull also having a large propulsor. The hull's shape is that of an ordinary ship, possessing an arched pointed lower part.

Ichigo used bringer light and shot straight up from the ground to the wide open deck above a metal railing lining the sides. A large structure topped by an arched roof reminiscent of a capsized hull housed the main interior of the ship. On the top of the arched roof sat yet again another, similarly-shaped tower, sprouting from the main hull and going up several meters, which ends in a massive observation deck protruding frontwards, complete with large windows.

At the tower's sides, on the dark roof, is a pair of large, red and black wing-shaped ornaments jutting upwards; a similar pair of wings is also present on the airship's protruding sections, with one of them adorning each outer side.

The two attached pontoon sections of the ship possess frontal, protruding parts reminiscent of rostrums, each adorned by a light motif, somewhat similar to a stylized monstrous head. Both the hull and the two adjacent sections bear linear blank parts, where a multitude of square windows is lined up one after the other, these being highly reminiscent of hatches.

"_Let's see how you work."_ Ichigo mused as he crouched down, placing a hand atop the deck and closing his eyes, reaching out for the ship's soul. It had worked with the trident and Kiribachi. Why not this? It didn't use the traditional sail systems, the propulsion systems were evident of that, meaning it was somehow mechanical. If he could figure out how it works…

Ignoring Hachi and the old man's presence he focused on the soul, coursing his fullbring ability to manipulate souls. Since it was such a large ship, it was taking time.

"What's he doing?" The old man asked, noticing a strange green glow from where Ichigo's hand touched the deck of the ship.

"I don't know." Hachi stated, watching as Ichigo did what he was doing. It took several minutes, the two remaining quiet as they watched the teen.

"It's a steam powered ship." Ichigo finally began.

"I could have told you that much." The ship owner huffed. "Damn engine room is full of coal, no matter what I do, damn thing still won't start. Tried everything." Ichigo rose to his feet rolling his shoulders as he cocked his head with a smirk.

"Did you try the keys?" The old man blinked.

"Keys?" The man questioned. "What keys, there ain't no keys! I've searched this ship from head to toe and there ain't no keys!" Ichigo nodded, he didn't feel the resonance of the keys when linking his soul with the ship, it was clear that the keys weren't aboard and probably lost considering the years that the ship had sat idle here. It needed work in some places but it was definitely useable.

Gesturing for Hachi and the shipowner to follow him, they headed inside of the main building, The interior needed work as well, but with time and care they could get it to how they liked it. Ichigo could already tell that it was above what a normal ship here would be like, it was mostly made out of metal instead of wood. Heading up the spiral staircase like he already knew his way around, they came to the Bridge.

Being the foremost section of the hull, it has a massive viewing area displaying everything ahead and would look out 180 degrees. Ichigo ignored the view of the shipyard, the windows covered in grime and whatever else. He instead walked up to the large wheel where the ship was obviously steered from. There was a small podium with all manner of dials, probably due to steam pressure and whatever else there was also a level next to it.

Running his hand over the wheel to the centre of it, where he pushed away a sliding cover revealing the key port. With a smile he reached fourth with his own soul, connecting it once more to the ships. Focusing on the mechanics, gaining an understanding of it, he began to turn the connections and soon enough a soft rumble rang out through the ship before it conked out on him.

"It'd need coal to start up fully." The ship owner began, wide eyed as he watched the teen do something he hadn't been able to do in years. He didn't know how the kid had done it, but despite the lack of key he had almost started it. Ichigo was smiling as he turned to the old man.

"How much?" Ichigo questioned.

* * *

Honestly, Ichigo wasn't surprised by the fact the man had let it go for the twelve million Ichigo had. Ichigo was probably the only one able to start it without the key, unless someone out there knew how to hotwire the damn thing. The old man seemed happy to just get rid of it, and Ichigo didn't have any qualms about taking it. It was a ship that didn't require the fundamentals of your basic ship and with time it would become cozy.

It needed a damn good clean, it took ten minutes for him and Hachi to wipe down the windows just so that they could see where they were going before finding the coal storage and engine before beginning to fire it up. It took a maximum effort but something else Ichigo had discovered was that it was great on it's coal reserves, continuing to burn hot long after they had filled it. Probably due to such long voyagers across the Grand Line. It was even lucky that the ship's coal storage was completely full.

All the pressure gages seemed to be in working order too. The ship even had a cargo hold where they had stored the small boat they had come from the Baratie. Never knew when it might come in handy. There was even a workshop down there too, if someone joined the crew with a knack for tinkering no doubt they'd find a use for it. The cargo bay had a ramp that could be used in water or on land.

The ship glided over the ocean, the waves not making it rocky barely feeling the discomfort as if it had a built in stabilizer, that'd come in handy in storms. It was a breeze to control too, responsive to the wheel's movements but not jerky either.

Ichigo directed the ship along the coast line just as they had done in the small boat on the way to the shipyard, although further out with the coast just in view. He didn't want to risk running his ship aground or something.

"It could use a new coat of paint." Ichigo mused as he rested on the wheel, Loguetown already coming back into view. The ship was fast. What had taken them almost an hour in their small boat now barely took them fifteen minutes.

"It's incredible." Hachi mused still awed at the ship. "I never knew such a ship would be here in the East Blue."

"He said it originally came from the Grand Line." Ichigo recalled. "Probably why it's so fancy." He shrugged. "No doubt it'll draw a lot of attention." Hachi nodded in agreement as the two watched as they sailed into port, seeing the gawkers looking on as Ichigo pulled the lever next to the wheel pulling them up to a stop. "_Nice addition of a handbrake."_ Ichigo smirked as they came to a stop beside a larger dock than what they had originally docked at the first time around.

"Let's go see what trouble Johnny and Yosaku have gotten themselves into." Ichigo started getting a smile from Hachi as the two disembarked and headed into Loguetown. Unfortunately, it didn't take the two long to find them as they were the centre of attention, a large crowd gathering at the end of the docks. Ichigo and Hachi pushed their way through, people quickly getting out of the way as they realised that Hachi was a Fishman.

In the centre of the crowd, beaten black and blue were Johnny and Yosaku. Ichigo's scowl increased as he walked forward, Johnny looking up at him, his usual glasses broken only one lense covering his right eye.

"Big Bro Ichigo." Johnny coughed, wheezing slightly. "I'm sorry." He muttered as his head sank to his chest, anger clearly seen in Ichigo's eyes as Hachi crouched down beside the two, checking them over. Ichigo's hands tightened into fists, as he began to hear murmurs from the crowd.

"It's the Barto Club, they're at it again."

"Loguetown's gone to hell."

"Now that Captain Smoker's gone it's just going to get worse!"

"Hachi." Ichigo began. "Get them back to the ship, look after them." Hachi looked up in surprise before his face paled slightly at the anger written on Ichigo's face.

"Right." Hachi nodded doing his best to lift the two up without disturbing their injuries. The crowd quickly dispersed after they were gone leaving Ichigo seething in the street.

"It was the Barto Club." A voice snapped Ichigo from his rage as his glare shot to the woman standing a few feet away. She had fiery red hair with golden streaks throughout. She wore a long blue coat resembling that of a street thug, with the coat having pictures of the ocean on it a, underneath, she wore a sarashi binding around her chest and frilly light blue pants with a pink belt and the letter "S" in the center for a belt buckle, she wore dark red heeled boots.

"They saw the two morons singing about a spending spree and decided to rob them of everything they had, luckily they got away with their lives." She shrugged.

"Where are they now?" Ichigo questioned causing the young woman to pause as she raised an eyebrow. Did he really expect to go after them alone? He'd have better luck if his Fishman friend was with him. Despite that, his eyes held a look she couldn't quite place, shrugging she gestured for the main street.

"They've got a bar, in the executioners square." She told him, not like she had an allegiance to the Barto Club anymore with how their leader was acting after Straw Hat's show. "With Smoker Gone, Loguetown's going to turn lawless, don't expect them to just roll over."

"Trust me." Her eyes widened, she swore for a moment his eyes flashed black and gold. "I'm not expecting them too." With that Ichigo headed back into Loguetown.

* * *

**Exterior Ship design is based on Grimoire Heart's Airship from Fairy Tail. If you were interested. I was going to base it off the Condor from Storm Hawks but decided to go this way instead. The interior will come later.**


	14. Chapter 14

"Just hang on you two!" Hachi was careful with the two, both coiled up in three arms each as Hachi stood inside their new ship, he was a little lost considering its size and he hadn't had the time to fully get accustomed to the layout like Ichigo seemingly had in minutes. He didn't understand how Ichigo got it to work, or understood it's layout. In fact, he didn't know all that much about Ichigo to begin with, but right now didn't have the time to ponder such things.

Hurrying through the ship, peeking in rooms he'd never seen before. Ichigo had mentioned that the ship had a medical bay, any ship worth its salt would have one, especially one from the Grand Line. Just this ship's layout was weird. He'd never seen a ship like this before, let alone been on one.

But finally he found it, hurrying inside he found numerous beds but headed for the closest two and placed Johnny and Yosaku down on them carefully. Turning to find that there were numerous medicines in cabinets but he didn't bother about them, most would probably be way out of date and unusable and in this situation given the ships age and time it had been out of commision.

It was something that they would need to do once they could replenish the supplies the ship had, with how Logue Town was becoming lawless they would probably have to search elsewhere to find supplies before heading for the Grand Line. Searching through a cabinet he found a bottle of pure alcohol which he quickly grabbed he could at least sanitize and bandage them up.

"I'm no doctor but it doesn't look like you've sustained any major injuries." Hachi spoke softly as he eyed Johnny and Yosaku on the two beds. He'd seen much worse over the years both under Fisher Tiger and Arlong, so he figured he could keep them comfortable at least.

Taking a look around the medical room after he had treated their injuries to the best of his abilities, he noted that like the rest of the ship it needed a really good clean. But most likely due to its prior sanitary state it was cleaner than most of the ship. It hadn't been very well cared for since being unused for all those years. Deciding that a stock take of everything in here could wait, he sat on the floor at the end of the two beds with his head down, silently praying for Johnny and Yosaku to get better.

"Once you're awake, I'll make us all some tasty Octopus Fritters." He whispered softly, since being invited into the crew it almost felt like home. Ichigo made him feel like he wasn't in the slightest bit different, even going so far as to say he didn't have to hide who he was, even if it caused him trouble. Johnny and Yosaku were coming around, even treating him like a comrade, sure it took a while but they were seeing past what he was and seeing who he was. Sure it hadn't been long, but they were all becoming friends. It was different to being a member of Arlong's crew, this felt different somehow, he just couldn't place it.

He had to wonder if Fisher Tiger would approve.

* * *

Desire's boot collided with the barrel repeatedly in frustration as she ran a hand through her crimson hair, her other hand holding the receiver of the Transponder Snail. Frustration was growing within the young woman as the elderly woman on the other end of the line spoke to her.

"_Come now Dearie, you should reconcile with him."_ The Transponder Snail spoke, mimicking the features of the elderly woman on the other end of the line.

"Like hell Granny!" Desire snapped back, her anger at what had transpired between her and her so called childhood friend coming out in her tone. "He bailed on me and for what? Some random punk kid in a straw hat!? There's no way I'll ever speak to that no good traitorous bastard again!" She shouted, kicking the barrel another few times for good measure, she had to let her anger out on something. "I'll set out on my own with the Sweet Pirates and our racers and rise to the top before Bartolomeo knows what hit him!" She declared.

"_Well, if that's what you truly wish Dearie, you do what is best for you."_ The woman returned with a smile that the snail showed to her, causing Desire to smile in return. "_I hate to see you at such odds with one another. You used to be so close when you were younger, causing mischief wherever you went."_ Desire awkwardly scratched at the back of her head, if by mischief she meant the crimes that they committed wherever they went, then sure mischief. Granny was way to lax with how they grew up and what they got away with.

"Sorry Granny, I didn't mean to unload all this on you." Desire apologised, knowing she shouldn't be putting her frustrations on her like this. "I'll do my best to keep in contact during my travels." She assured her with a grin.

"_Don't mind me, have fun out there and be sure to be prepared for everything, remember to pack spare underwear and not to talk to strangers, always brush your teeth after a meal….." _The woman continued to go on and on and there were a few odd looks given to her by the dock workers but with a quick glare to them sent them on their way back to work.

"I'll remember that Granny, see ya." With a click, Desire ended the call halfway through one of her Granny's lectures by placing the transceiver back on the snail. Sighing to herself she looked down into the water where her battle boat was, she was just waiting on the rest of her crew.

Initially the Sweet Pirates weren't with her when she came to visit Bartolomeo, she was anxious to get started on the Grand Line and had come to see when Bartolomeo and his outfit would be ready to set sail, the original plan was to do it together. However, just after she arrived in Loguetown they witnessed Straw Hat Luffy up on the execution stand. For some idiotic reason, Bartolomeo had become obsessed with the kid ever since, declaring he'd make Luffy rise to the top.

"Damn bastard traitor." Desire grit her teeth as her eyes turned back to the entrance of Loguetown. "I hope that orange haired bastard kicks your damn teeth in!" She shouted before huffing and sitting on the barrel she had been kicking during her call.

Loguetown had started to get rowdy after it was heard that Smoker had left without any warning or suitable replacement. Pirates were rocking up, even now that the news had spread from the island. Now that one of the most fearsome Marines had left they had nothing to worry about. The leftover Marines were being overwhelmed, the Barto Club was easily taking control of the city. No doubt it'd become a hub for pirates to congregate before going to the Grand Line once more unless the Marine's stepped in again.

Reaching into her coat for a bar of chocolate she frowned not finding any only empty wrappers, searching her other pockets coming to the same result. Desire came to the realisation that the last of her candy stash was still in the Barto Club's base of operations! Having left in such a hurry after her argument with Bartolomeo she had made the mistake of leaving her chocolate behind.

Pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation, she couldn't go and explore the Grand Line without chocolate now could she and who knows when she'll be able to buy some again. The plan was to leave here and head straight for the Grand Line. Stepping down from the barrel grabbing her metal pipe and resting it on one shoulder she placed her other hand in her coat pocket, she began to march back into Loguetown.

Chaos was already starting to reign, Marines trying to keep order but it was clear that they were wavering. Pirates and Marines fighting openly in the streets as the town's people locked themselves in houses. Desire didn't bother with anyone that got in her way, a quick glare and they backed off. If they didn't back off, a swift crack of her pipe and they weren't an issue. She may not be the most notorious criminal in the East Blue but she could throw a smack down like the best of them.

Approaching the execution square she had to wonder about the weirdo with the orange hair and colour changing eyes she had seen earlier. Honestly she was just pissed at Bartolomeo and figured if the guy was dead set on getting revenge for his crew, then she'd point the way. At the very least it'd annoy Bartolomeo.

She had to wonder though, did he make it or did he bite it to Bartolomeo and his goons? There was just something… off about that guy. Figuring she'd find out soon enough she made her way along the last stretch of road to the Barto Club, a bar named after the same name as the Gang. Bartolomeo wasn't exactly a person known for being inconspicuous. She was surprised he hadn't been found by the Marines, but considering he was just a low time thug the Marines didn't care all that much, not when they had Pirates with actual bounties to worry about.

Spotting the bar up ahead she sighed, she didn't want to deal with Bartolomeo again especially after the argument that they just had, she was getting angry just thinking about it. She'd be in and out with her chocolate and go back to waiting for the other members of the Sweet Pirates.

Walking up to the door she went to open it however something stopped her, her eyes widening as she felt the door swell underneath her hand. Instinctively she jumped back as the blast from inside destroyed the entire front of the bar, the whole interior collapsing in on itself from the blast.

Desire looked up in shock, having no idea what the hell had just happened. Her ears were ringing as she pushed a piece of rubble off of herself and looked at the destroyed bar, goons lying unconscious amidst the rubble, even Gambia Bartolomeo's right hand man was amidst the downed members of the club. As the smoke began to clear her eyes shot to the two standing… no as she focused, one was standing, the other was holding up the other.

It was the same orange haired guy, holding Bartolomeo up by his face, despite their size difference. It looked to Desire that Bartolomeo wasn't even conscious as the unknown teen held his face in a vice like grip. What surprised Desire were the marks glowing across the teens hands, like glowing blue veins spread out over his skin. Before the teen dropped him, Bartolomeo slumped to the ground in a heap.

How had he even beat Bartolomeo? She'd never seen Bartolomeo lose a fight before, not with his unique Bari Bari no Mi abilities, she thought they were indestructible, but whatever this guy had done had gotten through them somehow. Just who the hell was this guy?

"_Damn the chocolate, I'm not getting dragged into Bartolomeo's damn problems! Damn traitor deserves whatever he gets!"_ She grit her teeth and scurried out of the rubble before she got on solid ground, running back towards the docks. With any luck the Sweet Pirates would have arrived and they could get the hell out of there. Loguetown was turning into pure Chaos.

* * *

**X-Earlier-X**

"Haha! The Marines didn't know what hit them!" One of the members of the Barto Club laughed as they entered the bar, a large crowd of goons following in after them. The group had just ransacked the Marine's HQ in Loguetown, coming with all kinds of confiscated goods, weapons and money. Bags upon bags of stolen goods were placed down on the floor.

"Boss!? Where are you Boss?" Gambia called out. "I've got something special for you!" He called with a rolled up parchment in his hand.

"Eh? What is it?" The green haired thug stuck his head out of the back room. Gambi grinned and unrolled the parchment revealing Straw Hat Luffy's wanted Poster. Immediately Bartolomeo's eyes widened before turning to stars in excitement as he rushed forward.

"It's the true original copy too." Gambia stated confidently having snatched it from the transponder snail that had faxed it through to Navy HQ where all bounties would be authorised.

"It's so beautiful!" Bartolomeo cried clutching at the parchment and holding it up as if it were the most precious object in the world, careful not to damage it. "I've got to preserve it! A frame! Get me a frame!" Minutes later the wanted poster was framed and hung on the wall with the Barto Club admiring it.

"We also got a lot of other stuff too." Gambia told his boss, gesturing to the sacks of goods, Bartolomeo gave it a glance before he was back to admiring the now framed Wanted Poster of his idol. "There were even some low time punks with a case of a million beri's which we nabbed, after beating them down of course." Gambia laughed, however with a wave of his hand Bartolomeo casually stated.

"Split it between everyone, good job." Gambia nodded before turning to the rest of the group with a grin on his face.

"Alright men, let's divide it up!" Gambia ordered getting cheers from the thugs, however before anything could be done the door to the bar opened revealing an orange haired teen. All glances turned to him, all but Bartolomeo who was still looking at the wanted poster. One of the group's members scowled at the teen and walked towards him.

"Hey punk this is a private party, get outta here before we make you regret it. You got any idea who we are?" He questioned.

"It's the Barto Club, right?" Ichigo questioned, scowl on his face as he locked eyes with the thug causing the man to hesitate slightly. Softly he began to nod his head and take a few steps back at the severity in his eyes. The man looked at Gambia and Bartolomeo for assistance but their Boss was preoccupied so Gambia stepped forward, reaching for his nunchucks tucked into his pants, simply resting a hand on them for now, just in case this kid tried to cause trouble like some kind of hero.

"You need something?" Gambia questioned, tilting his head as he locked a glare on the teen before him. "Cause if you've got a problem, then we've all got a problem." Ichigo's scowl increased tenfold as his eyes began to glow a shade of blue.

"Yeah. I've got a problem." Ichigo's voice was filled with anger, hand clenching at his sides as his glare outshined Gambia's, pressure began to assert over everyone in the room as Ichigo increased his reiatsu output. "You wannabe thugs just mugged two members of my crew and left them beaten and broken." Ichigo growled out, eyes flashing gold beneath the blue. His reiatsu pressed down on them, those weaker being forced to their knees, some even succumbing to unconsciousness.

"Wata-cha!" Gambia grabbed his nunchucks and went to strike the side of Ichigo's head, but before Gambia even realised it, Ichigo had caught it, with his left hand and pulled him forward sending his balance off, his right pulled back as if going to throw a fist into his stomach, instead a black and red glowing ball of energy was growing in his hand.

"Bala." Ichigo simply spoke, throwing his hand forward, the Bala colliding with Gambia's stomach, Ichigo pulled back on the nunchucks and shifted his hand upwards sending Gambia flying straight into the ceiling crashing into the room above sending a tremor through the support structures of the place.

"Get him!" Ichigo's hand snatched the badge from his waist, blade extending as soon as it had it in grip. His blade sliced the closest thug nearest to him, cutting him down in seconds the others hesitated. Ichigo's eyes scanned the room, locking eyes on the one that stood out the most. He had been looking at Luffy's Wanted Poster when he had entered the bar, now his attention was clearly on Ichigo.

"Get him Boss!" Cheers shouted from the others, now seeing that Bartolomeo was now getting involved.

"Don't let him get away with what he did to Gambia!" Another shouted.

"Who the hell are you?" Bartolomeo questioned, hands beginning to make a weird gesture with his fingers. "The hell are you coming in here and beating up on my guys for!?" Ichigo grit his teeth, he didn't have the patience to deal with these morons.

"There it is!" A thug shouted as a large object appeared before Bartolomeo, it was see through but it was definitely a wall of some kind. Ichigo's scowl increased, did that mean he had a Devil Fruit like Luffy did? Just what was this guy's power?

Bartolomeo cast his arm forward sending the barrier straight at Ichigo, the teen went to leap back but found that there was a second wall behind him, no it was a second wall, Bartolomeo had somehow morphed the first one to reach over the top of him and form behind him. Gritting his teeth, angry that he hadn't realised he raised his sword up, flooding it with reiatsu.

"Getsuga Tensho!" The blast collided with the charging barrier, surprising Ichigo it stopped the attack as it raged against it, only sending cracks up the barrier's glass like structure. He had fully expected it to smash it.

"Barrier Smash!" Bartolomeo called out, now both sides of the barrier moving to crash into Ichigo from both sides, with the Getsuga still raging inside. Utilising Bringer Light Ichigo disappeared from sight, appearing outside the barrier as it collided on the Getsuga in a massive impact, crushing the Getsuga within the two sides of the barrier before the attack died out and Bartolomeo released his barrier.

Ichigo used Bringer Light again and appeared before Bartolomeo who was wide eyed at his speed he rose a hand in defense as Ichigo slashed upwards, but was stopped by another barrier on Bartolomeo's outstretched hand. Ichigo used Bringer Light to appear behind Bartolomeo only for the thug to raise a barrier instinctively behind him blocking Ichigo's attack again.

"Barrierbility!" The barrier protecting Bartolomeo's back began to morph and completely surround Bartolomeo in a cocoon like shape. "Haha! Try and get me now! It doesn't matter how fast you are if you can't hit me!" Bartolomeo laughed as he turned to face Ichigo.

"If a Getsuga can damage it." Ichigo stated, raising his sword up to his hand, slicing at his palm. "Then a damn Gran Rey Cero should wipe you out entirely." Ichigo stated as he raised his hand up, power beginning to surge through his palm.

"Try your best! No matter what you do it'll be for nothing! My barriers are impenetrable!" Bartolomeo laughed at the teen who raised his hand up, gripping his outstretched wrist with his other as he reinforced his arm with Reiatsu, he wasn't going to make the same mistake he did when facing Arlong. Beginning to feel the surge of the Cero take shape as Bartolomeo's laughter rang out, the shouts of the other thugs scrambled to get out of the way.

Then, there was nothing, no sound, just empty silence. A familiar sensation ran through Ichigo. He'd felt this before. The first time was when he first fought against Kenpachi back in Soul Society. The world around him had stopped.

A firm grip rested on his shoulder jolting him as he turned slightly, eyes widening as a small smile came to his face.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up." Ichigo spoke softly, feeling the presence of someone he hadn't in a long time. "Old Man Zangetsu."

"Ichigo." The man's voice came through deeply. "You're not balanced." Ichigo's eyes widened slightly. "Hollow powers, while powerful, are not all you possess."

"Wha-?" Ichigo went to question before his shoulder, where the man's arm rested flooded with power causing his outstretched arm to burn, gritting his teeth as blue venes of power shot straight from his shoulder along his arm out to his hand. It burned with reiatsu, he'd never felt that before.

"Balance all your power Ichigo, balance your emotions. Don't let anger consume you." The spirit began. "That will be the key to your full strength." Ichigo's eyes widened slightly, as the spirit ingrained a technique into his mind.

With that, the spirit was gone and Ichigo was once more bombarded with laughter from Bartolomeo and the shouts from his thugs trying to escape the blast radius. However, Ichigo let the Cero flicker out, his eyes still wide from the technique he had just been given as he tried to understand it all. Just what… or more so who was Old Man Zangetsu? Just what were his powers? Questions that could be answered later.

Raising his outstretched hand up, palm facing downwards he flooded the new power he barely understood into his hand, blood leaking down from the cut but soon accompanied by several roman numeral-inscribed constructs of reishi coming from his fingertips.

"Hey! What's that! What are you doing!?" Bartolomeo shouted, unsure of this change, he was confused, the kid had gone to use one attack but was now using another? The constructs of reishi hit the ground and spread out across the floor boards, even underneath Bartolomeo's barriers causing him to move his feet so that they wouldn't touch him.

"I don't really understand it all myself." Ichigo stated, the anger no longer present in his features. "All I know is that, it's Quincy in nature."

"I don't know what that means!" Bartolomeo shouted, angry and confused not getting at all what was being said.

"Kirchenlied: Sankt Zwinger." Ichigo stated before the whole floor lit up with blue reshi, numerous Quincy Cross's, erupted upwards in a circular formation around Ichigo as everything glowed blue as the reishi detonated. The explosion was immense, Ichigo himself was protected from the reishi as Blut Vene activated. At least the old man had given him a name to the technique that had protected him against Arlong.

The building around them was in ruins as Ichigo walked up to the now kneeling Bartolomeo, he was barely conscious as Ichigo stood before him. Bartolomeo looked up, Ichigo noting that he was going to cross his fingers again to form a barrier. His hand shot out, gripping Bartolomeo's face, Blut Arterie activating increasing his strength as he lifted the thug up before planting his other fist in the man's gut.

Bartolomeo grunted before his whole body went slack in Ichigo's grip. The teen released his hold on Bartolomeo's face letting him slump to the ground in a heap. Ichigo stood there, looking around at the destruction his attack had caused, it wasn't even an offensive ability, from what Zangetsu had shared with him, it was primarily a defensive ability.

Hearing hurried footsteps he looked to the street to see the same young woman with fiery red hair running down the street, away from this whole mess presumably. No doubt the Marines, if they were in control of Loguetown considering the chaos running rampant would come to assess what was going on meaning it was probably best to get out of here as quickly as possible.

Taking one more look over the rubble of the bar, he spotted the silver case he had handed to Johnny and Yosaku. Moving over to it, he picked it up. It seemed to be all in one piece, despite the explosion of reishi. Opening the case he saw the bills still inside. Reclosing it, he was about to leave before something else caught his eye, buried beneath the case he had just picked up was the sheath of a sword.

"Wasn't this…" He recalled seeing it once before, it had been inside Tashigi's office. It had been mounted on the wall when he had been taken to speak with her. Picking the sword up, no sword like this should be cast aside like that. If he had learnt anything from his time as a Shinigami it was to respect a sword. "_Hachi doesn't have a weapon, maybe this will suit him?"_ Ichigo pondered as he used Bringer Light to get out of the rubble before heading down the street, back to their new ship.

If Hachi was a part of Arlong's crew, he must know how to fight. If so, then they could both train Johnny and Yosaku. Ichigo wouldn't let what happened here in Loguetown happen to them again.

* * *

"Damn this place has gone to hell fast." Ichigo muttered as he dashed over the rooftops, with fighting breaking out left, right and centre below he figured this would be the best way to cross the city quickly, pirates and marines fighting one another in the streets below. He was closing in on the docks, even seeing the ship off in the distance, a large contrast to the other ships docked at port.

With all the Jolly Rogers flying high over the dock it just seemed like more and more pirates were arriving. The news that Smoker had left had really sparked something for this to be some kind of gathering point.

Case of cash in one hand and sword in the other, Ichigo made the final dash for the ship, leaping off the final building using Bringer Light to propel him across the distance to the ship. He could see in the distance, ship's both fleeing and heading for Loguetown, most having Jolly Rogers attached. It seemed like the pirates of the East Blue wanted to pay homage to the former King of the Pirates.

Landing on the deck of the ship Ichigo hurried inside to the common area.

"Hachi!?" Ichigo called out, his voice echoing through the halls. It took a few moments before loud heavy footsteps were heard.

"Ichigo, you're back." Hachi smiled happily as Ichigo smiled in return, the Fishman glad that there was no longer anger in the human. The presence he held when he first saw Johnny and Yosaku beaten by the entrance to Loguetown, it was down right scary.

"We've gotta get out of here, more and more pirates are flooding Loguetown." Ichigo explained handing him the case of beri's and the sword. While confused at the presence of the sword, Hachi nodded in agreement to Ichigo's words. "Know of any islands nearby? We still need supplies before heading for the Grand Line." Ichigo questioned as he headed for the spiral staircase that led to the bridge of the ship Hachi following him up.

"There are a few nearby." Hachi confirmed. "Once we're in open water we'll get our bearings." Ichigo nodded as he pressed his hand to the wheel, connecting his soul with the ships before starting the ignition.

"We're really going to need to see about getting a key for this thing." Ichigo mused aloud as the steam engines came to life. Even though the ship had been idle for a short while, with the boilers primed before they docked, they were still ready to go. Disengaging the breaks Ichigo pulled the lever to put the propulsion systems into action, the ship breaking away from the dock and passing ships as they sailed into Loguetowns port.

"How are Johnny and Yosaku doing?" Ichigo questioned as he steered them away from the pirate infested town.

"They're asleep still." Hachi told him. "I treated and bandaged their injuries as best I could." Ichigo sighed softly but nodded. "It's not your fault Ichigo." Hachi tried to reassure him.

The bridge was silent for a time as Hachi placed the case of beris and sword down on a nearby bench, the bridge itself was rather barren of anything in particular, it seemed that the last crew either had taken most of their things with them or scavengers had gotten at it.

"Oh, that sword is for you Hachi." Ichigo started glancing over to the Fishman, Hachi surprised by the fact Ichigo had thought of him when picking it up. "I figured you were some kind of swordsman, am I right? I figured it might come in handy." Ichigo shrugged.

"Well I was known for my Rokutoryu style back on Fishman Island." Hachi began. "Thank you Ichigo, I'll be sure to look after it." Ichigo nodded as he set his gaze back to the ocean that was spread out before them.

As time passed and Hachi directed their heading, Ichigo took to cleaning off the podium surrounding the ship's wheel, taking note of all the dials, toggles and switches that were present. There were more than he had originally thought there were.

Waving his hand over a dust covered screen he was surprised to find a sonar display, covered so thick in dust that none of it's light could get through. At the moment it wasn't showing anything on radar so there was nothing around them, maybe a school of fish or two but other than that nothing to worry about.

Hearing movement both Hachi and Ichigo turned to the stairwell to find Johnny and Yosaku, both wrapped in bandages coming up to the bridge. Once they breached the top step they stood side by side one another as they looked to Ichigo who raised an eyebrow. Moments later they were on their hands and knees, faces on the ground bowing their heads.

"We're sorry Big Bro Ichigo!" Both cried.

"You trusted us with the money!" Yosaku cried.

"We couldn't even protect it or get the supplies!" Johnny cried alongside him, both sobbing as they apologised. Hachi turned to Ichigo to see the teen with a small smile on his face before it vanished.

"It's fine, get off the floor it's filthy." Ichigo growled. "I got the money back so you don't have to worry about that, we're heading to another island to get the supplies. After that we'll head to the Grand Line." Both Johnny and Yosaku glanced at one another, both a look of shock and surprise masking their features before turning back to Ichigo.

"You still want us to come with you Big Bro?" Johnny asked.

"Even though we got beat up?" Yosaku added. Ichigo simply turned back to the view of the ocean ahead, a scowl on his face.

"I ain't leaving you to the wrath of Nami, I'm pretty sure she'd fry you up if you didn't do as she asked." Ichigo started getting awe inspired looks from the two as Hachi smiled, doing his best not to grin from ear to ear. "Plus, you guys want to go see the mermaids or whatever, right?"

"We won't let you down again Big Bro!" Both cried happily trying their best to wipe their tears on their sleeves. Ichigo simply shrugged as he continued to look out at the ocean.

"Training will start as soon as you're able." Ichigo started. "It's keenly aware that you two attract trouble wherever you go so the sooner we start, the better." Ichigo told them. "Until you're proficient enough with your new weapons, use your old swords, they're still on the small boat right?"

"That's right, where is that by the way?" Yosaku asked, both he and Johnny still unfamiliar with the ship.

"It's in the Cargo Bay." Hachi told them.

"We're ready to train right now Big Bro, right Yosaku!?" Johnny declared, despite being wrapped in bandages. Ichigo glanced over his shoulder to see the two with determination in their eyes. They had motivation behind them now, at least one good thing came from their endeavour.

"Then first things first." Ichigo began, a smirk on his face. "A hundred laps around the ship before we reach the next island. If you finish the hundred beforehand, you can start cleaning afterwards." Ichigo told them. "We need to build your strength up before anything else."

"And the cleaning?" They both asked.

"Think of it as punishment for the trouble you caused." Ichigo shrugged. "Go on, Hachi think's we'll be at the island in the next few hours."

* * *

**The sword Ichigo picked up for Hachi is called Yamaoroshi, originally belonging to Billy the Orca Killer that Tashigi took possession of after she defeated him. At the moment they do not know it's name. **

**There will be one more stop before they head to the Grand Line. **


	15. Chapter 15

He was still restrained. Water surrounded him, chains binding him. The city of his birth and his hometown completely flooded by the waters of his despair. The surface was so far away but despite that, he knew it was still raining high above. How long would it stay like this, would the flood ever recede?

"Zangetsu!" Ichigo shouted out into the depths of the water, his voice echoing across his mindscape. There was no response, no presence other than his own in the sunken depths. Where was Zangetsu? He had been there, he hadn't imagined it. He could still feel where he had touched his shoulder, sending a course of power through him.

Ichigo had so many questions. How was he able to use those Quincy abilities? What was happening to his powers? Just how could he regain his Shinigami abilities? But there was no answer from the man that had guided him through so much of his time in the world of the supernatural. There wasn't even the lingering presence of _him._

"Why show up at all!?" Ichigo roared, chains around him creaking as he shifted. "Just what the hell do I need to do!?" Sinking to his knees, the chains feeling heavy around him. Despite unlocking his spiritual presence, his Fullbring, the Hollow Powers and even the Quincy ones. The chains still coiled around him, restricting him from gaining access to his Shinigami power.

"_Balance."_ Ichigo recalled the old man's words. Said that he had to balance both his powers and his emotions to unlock his true powers. How was he supposed to balance his powers when he didn't even know what they were or where they came from?

Sighing, he pushed that away, deciding to focus on the emotional side of things. He knew for sure that he had lost his cool in Loguetown, letting his rage get the better of him. Seeing Johnny and Yosaku beat up like that had pushed button's in him. He felt weak and pathetic, to not have even been able to help them when they needed it.

"It won't happen again."

* * *

Hatchan stood with a smile on his face, all six arms, three on either hip as he stood in the now clean kitchen that he had finished cleaning sometime ago. After he had done his cleaning he had gone fishing, more so jumped overboard and used his enhanced underwater ability to catch some sealife. Now he was ready to cook. The kitchen didn't have much of a stock and whatever hadn't gone bad was mostly spices and such so he didn't have a lot to work with. But it still had all it's old utensils so he wasn't lacking in that department.

They had been travelling an hour or two now since departing Loguetown, Yosaku and Johnny were still doing their laps around the ship. No doubt the island they were heading to would appear in the coming hour, so they didn't have a lot of time to finish. The two bounty hunters hadn't expected the ship to be so large it seemed. They were getting close to the hundred laps Ichigo had ordered them to do however. No doubt they would need a meal afterwards.

It was clear to Hatchan that Yosaku and Johnny didn't have much strength and stamina, and it was obvious that Ichigo was going to increase that before they began to learn fighting technique. He was starting from basics which would be good for them. If they were truly going to make it all the way to Fishman Island by island hopping, then they were going to need all the strength that they could, especially if they ran into trouble and seeing as though it was the Grand Line, they were bound to run into trouble. That's just the kind of place the Grand Line was.

"Time to get to work." Hachi started happily as he went about prepping the food he had caught. While no master chef he had his own recipes and until Ichigo decided that the crew needed a proper chef he could make do with cooking all their meals.

Soon enough the kitchen was filled with the aroma of cooked food, plates being served up as Hachi finished up the cooking. Grabbing a plate in each hand leaving two free he headed out to where he knew Ichigo would be. The young Captain had been meditating since they had set out from Loguetown. Hachi never knew someone who was that concentrated by meditating before, it's like he had completely shut down and gone somewhere else. It was almost weird.

Passing through the common room he spotted the orange haired teen out on deck, still in his meditative pose. It didn't look like he had moved in the slightest since before he had gone fishing. Heading out onto the deck, a frown coming to his face, they didn't exactly have a table and chairs to sit at quite yet. It was beginning to show that their ship was lacking some required items.

"It's fine on the floor for now." Ichigo's voice snapped Hachi from his musings as the teen stretched his arms. "Smells good." He told him as Hachi sat down next to him, handing him a plate of food while still holding onto the others, having the free hands to start to eat his own.

"Man that smells good!" A shout came from around the corner.

"Just a little more!" A fellow shout as the pounding of footsteps could be heard as Johnny and Yosaku raced up the side of the ship. Hachi and Ichigo simply waited as the two came screeching around the corner.

"We're done!" They both cheered, covered in sweat. Both had taken to stripping their shirts as they ran, if even to lighten the load slightly. Ichigo glanced at the two with a raised eyebrow.

"We are done right, Big Bro?" Johnny asked nervously, seeing the questioning look in their Captain's eyes.

"I made sure to count right!" Yosaku cried, sinking to his knees.

"You were done two laps ago." Ichigo shrugged. "I figured you were trying to get out of cleaning." He added continuing to eat. Both Yosaku and Johnny glanced at one another before linking arms, dancing around in a circle while cheering that they were done. Despite a hundred and two laps, they still had the energy to act like morons.

"Here." Hachi said, offering up the two plates he still had. "Lunch." The two quickly snatched the plates from his hands and began to devour the food causing Ichigo to scowl at the lack of manners the two had. Both shoveled in the food as if it were their last meal before both leaned back on their arms, guts slightly swollen. Ichigo and Hachi hadn't even finished their own meals yet.

Yosaku watched with a smile however something caught his eye causing him to lean forward, staring at Hachi with wide horrified eyes. Hachi for his credit just gave the bounty hunter a questioning look.

"Isn't that cannibalism?" Yosaku questioned getting looks from Johnny and Ichigo who glanced over to see that Hachi was about to eat a piece of fried octopus. Hachi looked between Yosaku and the fried octopus before back again, his face beginning to pale as realisation set in.

"Oh no! I'm a monster!" He cried, causing Ichigo to facepalm. How does he meet these kinds of people and why do they all seem to gather around him? Now the three of them were panicking over what the fishman had just eaten.

"It's fine! Shut up!" Ichigo growled, finishing off his own meal. "Even wild octopus are known for eating their own kind." He stated getting wide eyed stares from the other three. Running a hand down his face he turned to Hachi. "How long have you been eating Octopus for?"

"Oh, ever since I was young." Hachi nodded. "I've always dreamed of opening up a takoyaki stand." He explained.

"Then why are you freaking out about it now?" Ichigo inquired, a twitch in his eye. "It's normal for you to do it, so do it. As long as you're not messing up the ecosystem somehow, it should be fine right? Plus, you're probably not the only Fishman that eats them, right?"

"Ahaha! Wow, that's so true." Hachi laughed. "Worried over nothing." He continued before finishing off the rest of his fried octopus quite happily.

"Your really smart Big Bro Ichigo." Johnny began. "Not like Big Sis Nami said at all." This caught Ichigo's attention, what the hell was that little sneak thief telling them about him now?

"Yeah, Big Sis Nami said you must have been really sheltered growing up since you didn't know a whole lot." Yosaku added. Ichigo sighed, if that's all she had to say then that was fine, she did have to explain a few things when he first got here after all. "Probably one of the reasons she got us to come with you." When he caught up with her again, oh was she going to pay for sticking these morons with him.

"I know enough to get by." Ichigo told them with a shrug as Hachi gathered up all the plates and stood up intending to take them back to the kitchen, casting a gaze out over the heading before raising a hand up to his brow.

"Looks like we're almost there." Hachi noted as Ichigo got to his feet, looking off in the same direction that Hachi was looking. In the distance was the obvious shape of an island coming into view. With their speed it wouldn't take long before they were there.

"Alright!" Johnny and Yosaku were once more dancing again. "One more stop and then here we come Fishman Island! Mermaids ahoy!" The two idiots had already forgotten that they were taking the scenic route through the Grand Line. Standing behind the two a smirk came to Ichigo's face.

"Alright, time for some more training. Cleaning can wait." Both Johnny and Yosaku looked behind them to face Ichigo, the happiness they just had no longer present. "You're going to do push ups until we get to the island." Both opened their mouths to speak. "You told me to train you, so I'm training you, get to work."

"Yes Big Bro." Both muttered before falling to their hands, beginning to perform the exercise. Ichigo watched them for a time, the two seemingly not having much problem with it. Smirking slightly, he began to raise his reiatsu, just small inklings at a time and forced it down on the two. Not enough to render them immobile or unconscious like the Marines back in Cocoyasi or the thugs in Loguetown, just enough to put extra strain on them, to push their muscles. This would also help with his own control.

"Gah! Something's heavy!" Johnny grunted, the excessive force pushing down on him buckling his arms slightly as he pushed himself up.

"It's weird! It feels like a ton of force is pushing down on me!" Yosaku added, resting his head on the deck before pushing himself back up, arms shaking under the force.

"Quit your moaning." Ichigo growled. "This is just the start of your training. Expect it to get a lot tougher from here on out."

"Yes Big Bro!" They chanted out. Ichigo watched them, no longer were they in sync with their push ups, both doing what they can just to push through.

"Listen up." Ichigo began. "I don't know what we're going to face out there on the Grand Line. You should be ready for anything, so I want you to ingrain this into your minds." He told them. "When you dodge, you don't let them hit you. If you protect someone, you don't let them die. When you attack, you kill." Ichigo told them the same words that Kisuke told him so long ago to unlock his resolve. "Now. When you counter!?"

"We don't let them hit us!"

"When you protect someone!?"

"We don't let them die!"

"When you attack!?"

"Kill!"

"Repeat it!" Johnny and Yosaku repeated and repeated the mantra as they continued to go through the movements. Over and over again they pushed through, when they started to get used to the strength of the reiatsu, Ichigo increased it a bit. Numerous times they fell on their faces, flatted to the ground before pushing through again. Ichigo could see it. The resolve in both of them to get stronger.

Hachi watched from behind, the air around Johnny and Yosaku looked completely distorted with some unknown pressure seemingly radiating from Ichigo himself. He could feel it in the air, the unknown power Ichigo extered. He remembered feeling it back when he faced Arlong. During the fight, the power was focused into his attacks, the first being the slashing of his sword that sent a crescent wave of power that bisected Arlong, the second time was when he fired that powerful black wave from his hand at the rest of the crew.

Still, Hachi couldn't place what it was. He knew Haki and while wasn't an expert or a practitioner of the strange power himself, he knew that Ichigo's power was different from what Reyleigh had told him when he was a child. He was honestly stumped in what kind of power Ichigo possessed.

"I'll direct us into port, Ichigo." Hachi called over getting a glance over the shoulder from the teen before a simple nod as Ichigo turned back to the two bounty hunters.

* * *

"Time to stretch my legs." Ichigo sighed as he walked down the ramp from the deck onto the dock. Hachi following after him as Johnny and Yosaku trailed behind, both had their dadao swords at their hips while Hachi had the katana that Ichigo had nabbed from Loguetown strapped down his back.

Hachi's presence immediately grabbed the attention of the surrounding Townsfolk as they disembarked their ship, Hachi simply gave a small wave seemingly making the children happy but the adult's didn't care for it much. Pulling the children in close. While it upset Hachi he was understanding, knowing that Fishman would not have a good reputation, especially in the East Blue with Arlong's crew just having been defeated after so long.

"Now, we need to focus on stocking up the supplies on the ship." Ichigo continued as they headed into town, briefcase in hand, containing the one million beri.

"Ingredients for meals, some sets of furniture, medical supplies." Hachi began to list, no longer paying attention to the townsfolk stares. "We still haven't fully checked out the armory yet to see what's in there." Ichigo nodded.

"Yeah, let's focus on the day to day first and the essentials." Ichigo suggested. "I want to give the ship a new coat of paint, it'll fill in time between islands." Ichigo added, recalling how bored he got when he was sailing with Luffy and the others. He needed something to preoccupy his time and training Johnny and Yosaku wouldn't take up every hour of the day for him. Maybe Luffy was right in the whole aspect of getting a musician for the crew, at least they'd have some form of entertainment then.

The four walked, more so Ichigo and Hachi walked, Johnny and Yosaku dragging their feet behind them, still recovering from the exercise. The small group soon found a marketplace that was bustling with life. Hachi took the initiative in buying their food, while the people were still frightened of his appearance, it seemed after seeing the million beri that Ichigo carried around, they were eager to trade despite his appearance.

Johnny and Yosaku were soon pitching in ideas of what they needed and before long each of them were carrying large sacks of bought items. Other items would be sent to the docks for delivery to the ship, such as the paint Ichigo ordered and the barrels of fresh water Hachi had requested as well as the furniture.

The most expensive items were no doubt the medical supplies, Ichigo having little knowledge on medicines did help when choosing which to buy, but even so they weren't exactly the same as what were in the clinic back home. The sellers were helpful and gave him suggestions, he had the money to play around with and it's not like they wouldn't use it if they needed it. Better to have it and not need it then not have it and need it.

They should probably think about getting a doctor on board at some point.

By mid afternoon they basically had most of what they needed and had dropped a far amount of cash in the marketplace to the point other sellers were calling out to them to come see their wares. Most people no longer shied away from Hachi's presence welcoming the Fishman in and offering him wares of all types. Ichigo had to drag him out of a few stalls otherwise he would have spent more than necessary on things they didn't need.

The four were heading back to their ship to take back their own bags of items they had gotten. That's when a Bell rang out, echoing over the entire town. Ichigo stopped and looked around, the attention of all the people in town turning to the large bell tower.

"PIRATES!" A shout came from the tower. "PIRATES ARE COMING!" Fear struck the town as the people began to flee in terror, screams and panic arose as the townsfolk rushed to evacuate the city. In mere moments the town had gone from peaceful to a ghost town just at the prospect of pirates attacking.

"Just once, I'd like to stop somewhere without something going wrong." Ichigo muttered to himself as they made their way to their ship, the pirate ship that was approaching the island coming into view as the four reached the docks. There was also a large crowd of people gathered, so not everyone had run away it seemed.

"What are we going to do Big Bro?" Johnny questioned.

"Yeah Big Bro, what's the plan?" Yosaku added.

"Should we do something?" Hachi questioned, looking at the approaching pirate ship. "I don't recognise the flag." He added. The three turned to Ichigo who ran a hand through his hair, as he watched the pirate ship come closer and closer to the island. He honestly didn't know if they should intervene or not, but he didn't like the fact that if these pirates were like other pirates, then this town was about to be hit hard. If he could have done something to prevent that… and didn't? How was he any better?

"Let's go see what's up." Ichigo muttered as Johnny and Yosaku grinned, placing their bags down in a heap with Hachi's before the four walked over to the group. As they approached there was a main with a pair of binoculars looking out at the ship, hands trembling around the item as he lowered them from his eyes.

"There's no mistaking it, that's Crescent Moon Gally's ship!" Murmurs arose from the crowd, all trying to come to terms with everything and come up with a plan.

"I heard he recently made the bounty list." A woman spoke up.

"Our small town doesn't stand a chance." Another of the crowd spoke.

"We could try and bargain with them." A man suggested. Arguments began to arise as the situation began to fall apart, fear setting in as the ship grew ever closer.

"Heard of him before?" Ichigo questioned Johnny and Yosaku, Yosaku pulled out his bounty posters and began to look through them.

"He must have done something to have a bounty." Hachi told him. "It's probably not good either." He added. "The Marines don't give bounties to just anyone." Ichigo nodded, Arlong's bounty was twenty million and Luffy had just gotten a bounty of twenty five million, so this guy was probably up there with them.

"Here." Yosaku started offering Ichigo the bounty poster which the teen took, glancing it over. Five million? That was it? Looking up at the approaching ship, it's size was quite large with a purple snake figurehead and a forward cannon protruding from the snake's mouth. Hachi chuckled lightly seeing Ichigo's expression.

"It's rare for a bounty to be very high here in the East Blue." The Fishman told the teen. "The East Blue afterall is the weakest of the four blue seas." He explained. "Honestly, I don't think you've anything to worry about."

"I see…" Ichigo mumbled as he passed the poster back to Yosaku who tucked it back inside his jacket.

"Mayor, what should we do?" A man questioned, the rest of the crowd turning to face the small mayor with black hair around the sides of his head and on top. However before the man could answer, a voice shouted from the back of the crowd.

"We fight!" The girl was the centre of attention as even Ichigo, Hachi, Johnny and Yosaku looked back to find a tall, slim girl with blond hair and brown eyes wearing a blue T-shirt and green and white chequered shorts. In her hands she held a sword with a purple sheath with a cutlass like handle.

"Silk!? What are you doing here!?" The mayor called out to the blonde girl, the whole crowd was shocked to find her there.

"There's nothing to debate! We chase them off!" A collective sigh came from the crowd as they all turned away from the teen girl.

"Shut up." They all began.

"Eh?" Johnny and Yosaku blinked, they were almost moved to tears by the young girl's determination to protect her town, instead the whole crowd just turned their back on her suggestion.

"What're you sheep!?" Silk shouted out at them. "I live here too you know! Why should we kowtow to Pirates! We must fight!" She declared.

"Stay out of this!" One man growled as he grabbed her by the right arm.

"You turn the tiniest problems into the biggest catastrophes!" Another added as he grabbed her left, lifting her off her feet as she swung her legs trying to kick out at them.

"Take her to hide with the others." The Mayor spoke getting nods from the men holding Silk. "Let me talk to them, only a few of you need to stay."

"Hold up old man." Ichigo's voice cut through the murmurs of the crowd. "You have no idea what's coming on that ship, you have no idea if those pirates will negotiate with you. Your only option might be to fight." The Mayor turned to find Ichigo standing with his crew.

"What does a stranger have to say about it?" The mayor questioned. "You have no allegiance to our town."

"Hey! That's no way to talk to Big Bro Ichigo when he's offering his help!" Johnny shouted.

"Yeah! Big Bro Ichigo's the only way you guys make it out of this alive!" Yosaku shouted alongside Johnny. Both bounty hunters turned and grinned at one another before striking poses.

"Big Bro Ichigo is here to help!" Ichigo's eyebrow twitched before he smacked both of them in the back of the head, slamming them to the ground.

"Shut up, morons." Ichigo growled as he walked forward, Hachi crouching down to make sure the two were okay. "What I'm saying is, you shouldn't turn away those wanting to help. The girl wants to fight, if it comes to it, let her. Right now she's the only one willing to protect this town." Everyone shared glances with one another, guilt sinking in knowing his words struck true. They were all too afraid to fight.

"We don't have the manpower or weapons to hold off such a crew of bloodthirsty pirates!" The mayor argued. "If we atleast hold negotiations long enough for everyone to evacuate, we can just rebuild!" He shouted at Ichigo, revealing his true intent to the crowd.

"That's not living!" Silk shouted, struggling out of the grip of her captors and rushing forward towards the Mayor. "If we live and rebuild! We'll just live in fear of it happening again, and again!" Gripping the mayor by his shoulders as she stared down into his face. "We have to fight!" The mayor stared back at silk before nodding his head once making a smile grow on Silk's face.

"I won't force anyone to stay, those that are unprepared, leave." The mayor told the crowd. "I will try for negotiations first." He said with a glance at Ichigo who nodded, it was the man's decision after all. "Will you aid us, stranger?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo." The teen introduced himself. "They might be morons." Ichigo chided, gesturing to Johnny and Yosaku. "But they were right, I'll help. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just left you to it." He explained getting a thankful nod from the mayor.

"Alright Big Bro! Show them what you've got!" Johnny grinned as Ichigo raised an eyebrow at him. "R-Right?"

"Yeah Big Bro, a five million beri bounty should be nothing to you." Yosaku added awkwardly.

"You really don't get it yet?" Ichigo questioned as two of Hachi's hands landed on both of their shoulders, jolting them slightly.

"Ichigo wants to see what you're capable of." Hachi told them, causing their faces to pale in response, they'd never gone after someone with a five million beri bounty before! "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll work out." He told them with a smile. Hearing footsteps Ichigo glanced behind him to see the blonde approaching him.

"Thank you!" She bowed her head deeply. "They never would have listened to me if you weren't here." She told them. Ichigo eyed her for a moment, the hand she had her sword in was trembling slightly as she looked up at him. Ichigo turned to face her fully.

"You sure you're ready?" He questioned surprising her, her hand tightening around her sword.

"I am!" She declared, resolve in her eyes. While frightened, she wasn't backing down. She had resolved to go through with it, even through the fear. Ichigo nodded, at least someone in this town held such a resolve. Looking over to the crowd around the mayor, several had left only leaving a small handful.

"Don't worry Little Sis!" Yosaku declared, surprising Ichigo slightly as both Johnny and Yosaku stepped around him.

"You're Big Bro's will take care of you!" Johnny told her. "I'm Johnny."

"And I'm Yosaku!"

"You're both a pain in the ass!" Ichigo shouted figuring they were going to go for their whole stupid introduction that they had done on the Merry when he first met them, grabbing their heads he smacked them together.

"That hurt Big Bro." They both muttered on the ground causing Ichigo to sigh as Silk laughed at the display.

"I'm Ichigo, this is Hatchan." Ichigo introduced and thrust a thumb up at Hachi.

"Hello." Hachi greeted with a wave of three of his hands making Silk take a step back with wide eyes, as she stared in shock at the Fishman probably only ever hearing about them. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." He smiled. "You can call me Hachi." Silk nodded her head before their attention was brought to the ship coming into port.

The Mayor stood out front of the group as the pirate ship docked, Ichigo let the mayor have his way. If this all could be solved with negotiations, then that was good. However considering his track record with pirates so far, The Black Cats and Arlong's crew… things probably weren't going to go that way. Especially if this was a pirate with a new bounty wanting to raise it and prove himself for whatever reason.

One day, he'd sail to an island where there wouldn't be any pirates and he could just relax. That was the dream.

The pirates began to disembark their ship, Silk gripped the hilt of her sword but Ichigo rested a hand on her shoulder to stop her from drawing it. She looked up at him, but he wasn't looking at her; he was looking at the approaching pirates, a fierce look on his face that made her stop and turn her attention to the pirates.

"Remain calm." Ichigo spoke softly. "Anger can be used as a weapon, but you shouldn't let it consume you, stay focused." He offered getting a nod from Silk as she took a deep breath and steadied herself once more. A smile came to the teens face as he looked down at her, she was interesting to say the least and had the nerve to stand up to pirates.

A glance to his right showed Johnny and Yosaku, they were doing their best to keep calm but the extra sweat on their brows was evident to their nerves, he had to wonder if they were up for this. Hachi seemed fine however, no doubt having experienced fights like this before, maybe even on a larger scale.

The Mayor of the town was out front with Ichigo and the others in a line behind him at his request. The other townsfolk that had remained were in a group behind the line. The pirates began their approach down the pier, weapons already in hand and just by the looks of them they had no intention to settle this like civilized people.

"I see, so it's true that there are some that try to negotiate with pirates." The pirate out front with a crescent moon shaped mustache dressed in typical pirate garb grinned as the pirates approached. The mayor cleared his throat as he took a step forward.

"We have nothing for you here, pirates. We ask that you leave and don't return." The mayor called out. Laughter rang out from the pirates as the Captain walked forward.

"Do you have any idea who you're facing!? You're nothing but lowly insects compared to me! Just get trampled on!" He roared signaling for his crew to attack. Brandishing weapons they charged across the pier of the dock.

"You tried Mayor." Ichigo started stepping forward where the pier connected to the dock. Holding his hand out, badge in his hand he poured reiatsu into bringing forth a black six pronged Tsuba. Eyes widened at the power and before the pirates up ahead could figure out what the teen was doing, Ichigo had already launched the spinning Tsuba directly down the centre of the pier.

The Tsuba caused the front group of pirates to jump off the sides of the pier into the ocean before it coursed through knocking several more pirates down only seeming to aggravate the others.

"Johnny, Yosaku." Ichigo began. "You're up." The first group of pirates launched themselves up in the air, intending to bring their blades down on Ichigo, the teen however stepped back allowing the two bounty hunters to take his place. Locking blades with the pirates the two pushed them back before charging forward. Clashing blades with any pirate that came in close.

Johnny ducked beneath the swing of a sword which Yosaku defended against holding the pirate at bay before Johnny kicked out at the pirate, knocking him down into the ocean. Working together they quickly made short work of the pirates as they tried to get off the pier. Hachi meanwhile walked to the water's edge, sword drawn as he watched the pirates swim for shore. However at the sight of the menacing looking fishman they stopped before quickly retreating, swimming from the shore as fast as they could to get away.

Soon enough, there were only three pirates left on the pier, a large fat man with a vertical striped shirt, a skinny lanky man with a horizontal striped shirt and Gally himself.

Johnny and Yosaku were both surprised at themselves. Whatever pressure Ichigo had asserted upon them when they had been training made them feel lighter, as if nothing could touch them. Sure they had been nicked a couple of times, but they were barely out of breath despite having faced down the majority of Gally's crew.

The large fat one charged forward, forcing both Johnny and Yosaku to withdraw off the pier and onto the dock before Johnny locked blades with the fat pirate, glaring at him from behind his glasses. Yosaku was about to help before the skinny pirate caught his attention and he was forced to defend, he was a lot faster than the other pirates and maneuvered like a snake.

As Johnny fended off the fat pirates slashes, he could tell that the pirate was getting tired, not able to keep the power behind his blows as he got increasingly more and more tired as the fight dragged on. Seeing an opportunity, Johnny deflected the pirates sword upwards before sending a kick into the pirates gut causing him to stumble backwards, Johnny didn't let up as he charged, raising his sword above his head he slashed the pirate from shoulder to hip. The pirate dropped his sword before dropping to his knees and face planting the ground.

Yosaku was ducking and weaving, doing his best not to get caught by the blade's speed. Deflecting the pirate blade to the side he went to strike out but the pirate had already predicted the punch and drove his knee into Yosaku's gut. While it had speed, it didn't pack a punch. Gritting his teeth, Yosaku tackled the pirate to the ground as best he could, laying the pirate out before launching his fists at him. With the pirate beaten and bloody Yosaku heaved a heavy sigh of relief before collapsing backwards onto his rear.

Gally himself was enraged as his only two officers had been brought down, the rest of his crew driven off in fear due to the sword wielding Fishman, and who stood before him? A little girl wanting to play hero.

Silk had drawn her sword, as she stood off against Gally, the sheath of her sword on the ground discarded a few feet away. She could feel everyone's eyes on her as she faced the Pirate Captain. Gally went from infuriated to laughing as he pointed at her.

"You! You plan to be my opponent! You're just a little girl!" He shouted as Gally drew his sword and dashed forward, Silk gripped her own with both hands and deflected the blows from the pirate Captain.

Ichigo watched the girl fend off Gally's attacks, while no master swordsman she had trained and knew how to handle herself. When she was given an opening, she took it however her control over the sword wasn't great and her swings were too wide or overdone. But she certainly had Gally off guard since he was no master either. But as the fight between the two went on, Gally started to get the upper hand. Silk was losing her focus, letting her emotions control her as Gally began to taunt her. Her swings became more exaggerated.

Silk locked swords with Gally, the pirate Captain grinning from ear to ear as he pushed her back. Silk grit her teeth and tried to get out of the sword lock but in doing so stumbled backwards, her sword leaving her grip as she landed on her back, the Captain standing over her.

"It's no use girl! It's over for you!"

"_Remain Calm, don't let your anger consume you, stay focused." _Silk recalled Ichigo's words and smiled softly. She was focused but to get out of this mess, she needed for Gally to become enraged.

"Weird Beard." She grinned widely despite being beneath the Captain, the moment those words left her mouth the entire area rang silent, a few snorts of laughter that Johnny and Yosaku couldn't keep in before the entire crowd of people bar Ichigo was laughing, even Hachi covered his mouth to stop from laughing.

"Wh-What did you say!?" Gally roared. "How dare you insolent the magnificence of this beard! Die!" Gally raised his sword above his head with both hands leaving his entire body open. It only took a moment, one quick movement and every male around winced as Silk's boot collided with Gally's groin. The pirates sword hit the ground and Silk took the opportunity to crawl away as Gally fell to his knees, cupping his unmentionables. Silk got to her feet, picking up her sword she smiled.

"We won!" She cheered thrusting her sword up in the air as the cheers of the crowd echoed out over the dock.

*BANG*

The sound of a gunshot rang out, making everyone go quiet before turning to Gally to see him on the ground, smoking pistol in hand as he had aimed it from his position on the ground. What surprised Silk the most was Ichigo who was standing before her despite having been nowhere near her, hand outstretched, blue vein like markings covering his hand before he opened it, the bullet that had been shot at her falling to the ground.

His other hand was wrapped around his badge, where a blade and hilt now protruded from it. Dense power swirled around Ichigo before covering the blade with the dense power as he raised it above his head. Gally, fearful from the look in the teens eyes panicked, begging and apologising but it went on deaf ears.

"Getsuga Tensho." The blast tore everything in front of Ichigo asunder, Gally was no longer present nor was the edge of the dock, the pier completely disintegrated amidst the blast and Gally's massive ship split in two, creaking open as it split down the middle before crashing down into the water on either side. Ichigo rolled his shoulder as he turned back to Silk.

"Just because you're opponents down, doesn't mean the fight is over." He told her as he flicked her on the forehead. Silk barely registered the flick, still wide eyed at what she had witnessed from the teen in front of her. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the bewildered faces of the rest of the townspeople and they seemed just as shell shocked as Silk.

"_They have a world filled with Rubber People, Fishmen and they can't seem to grasp the concept of a Getsuga?"_ He sighed quietly to himself as he looked over to Johnny and Yosaku, while they hadn't done perfect they'd done their part. Hachi had done his bit, making sure none of the pirates came ashore so that they weren't overwhelmed. Still though, why so afraid of a Fishman?

"Big Bro! We're hungry!" Johnny and Yosaku groaned from where they sat on the dock seemingly snapping Silk from her trance as she looked around, while the dock was damaged it could be fixed in time, there were no signs of the pirates either. Cheers erupted from the crowd as Silk smiled happily, tears coming to her eyes, using the back of her hands to wipe at her eyes before a hand landed on the back of her head.

"Good work." Ichigo told her with a small smile. Sniffling, she nodded happily.

* * *

Ichigo sat at the bar having just finished his coffee, after the fight the residents of the town had issued the order of a party and a feast for those that had protected their town. While he didn't really want to stay around for much longer, Yosaku and Johnny were already in party mode before he could really say anything about it. He figured they deserved a little reward for what they had done.

Right now the two of them along with Hachi were all passed out on the floor of Silk's diner, too much alcohol it seemed. Despite fighting against Gally herself, Silk had spent most of the evening cooking for the party Hachi had helped her out and the two seemed to get along fine, despite Silk's first impression of the Fishman. She had enjoyed herself too, being congratulated from the returning townspeople after they heard what she had done.

Getting up from the bar, he exited the diner into the cool night air. The party had gone long into the night and he didn't exactly feel comfortable sleeping at the bar. Figuring he'd make it back to the ship and find a bed to sleep in considering they hadn't chosen rooms yet. Although, when he had connected his soul to the ship's he already had a room in mind for himself. It was the Captain's quarters after all.

Hands in his pockets he came up to the port, the damage he had made still evident, the massive ship he had cleaved in two had been a large topic when the townspeople had gotten back. The ship had been investigated and there was a large stockpile of treasure within. Despite Gally and his mannerisms, it turns out he was quite successful as a pirate, at least until he stumbled upon Ichigo. Ichigo had tried his hardest but the townspeople had basicalled pleaded with him to take it. If the Marine's caught wind that a small town like this was full of treasure they'd hold a full investigation thinking there were pirates hanging around.

Begrudgingly he accepted and the treasure was stored in the cargo hold of their ship. Somehow he kept coming into wild amounts of money that he didn't even know what to spend it on. Looking over to where the ship was docked a small smile came to his face, it was his home at the moment and even though he hadn't had it very long, it already felt like one.

"She's all stocked up, I had the people in the market throw a couple of extra things in for you, for your help." The Mayor's voice reached Ichigo, the teen turning to find the old man standing on the side of the dock looking out over the ocean.

"You didn't have to do that." Ichigo would have argued, but with how damn stubborn everyone in this town seemed to be it wouldn't get him anywhere.

"I still don't feel like I've repaid the debt." The Mayor told him as Ichigo leaned on a barrel that was sitting around. "You saved Silk's life today." The man wiped at his eyes. "For that, I can never repay you." Ichigo frowned slightly, it was like a father and a daughter almost. "Please." The man looked back at Ichigo tears welling up in his eyes, the teen raising an eyebrow slightly. "Take care of her." There was silence for a few moments before Ichigo breathed out a slight sigh.

"Johnny and Yosaku?" Ichigo questioned as he walked over to stand beside the man.

"They somehow convinced her you'd accept it if she was already on board, she's probably already stowed away somewhere on your ship." He chuckled. "She was a little intimidated by you to ask you herself, so she sought the help from those two." He explained getting a nod of understanding from Ichigo. "You were expecting her to ask?"

"I figured something like this might happen." Ichigo told him honestly, he had thought about asking but how she acted after the fighting during the events of celebration he was just waiting for her to ask herself. She went a roundabout way of doing it though.

"I'll do my best to keep her safe." Ichigo told the Mayor. "I'm training Johnny and Yosaku so I'll do my best to make sure she can defend herself from whatever we come across. I'll never force her into a situation she can't handle." His hand slapped Ichigo's back as the Mayor nodded happily.

"She'll be a handful." He laughed happily as the man walked away down the path causing Ichigo to breathe a sigh once more before a small smile came to his face.

"Yeah, it turns out everyone I get roped with turns out the same way." Ichigo chuckled lightly to himself as he looked up at the moon shining brightly in the sky.


End file.
